Lost In Paradise
by foreverXabby
Summary: Anya is a witch on the run with what her family deems a "monster"- her brother, Connor. She's just trying to find a cure for him, to save his life. But when their journey leads them to the Originals, Anya will have to choose between her blossoming love for Kol, and her undying loyalty to her brother. Will she save his life? Or will she start her own? Kol/OC
1. The Astrum Stone

**Chapter one**

_The Astrum Stone_

"Anya! Come on, let's go!"

Anya started, tearing her gaze away from the old Grimoire in front of her. Its cover was made of soft, worn leather; the pages were yellowed and torn. It was an old book, passed down through the generations. It also had been used, a lot.

For the past hour, she had been going through the pages, over and over and over again, searching for a spell, any spell that might solve their problems. She found nothing, not even in the far back of the book, where there were only old, dark spells written by some of her old, dark ancestors that were swallowed up in dark magic.

Anya sighed and ran a hand over her face. She resisted the urge to throw the book across the room. It was still her most valuable possession. It contained all of her knowledge, all of her importance. In all honesty, Anya would be nothing without the Grimoire in her hands.

"Anya! I'm not telling you again! Get your ass down here and let's g-" Connor cut off into a cough, a nasty, painful cough. Anya flinched. She could practically see the blood he coughed up into his hand, even though he wasn't in the same room as her.

"I'm coming Connor!" she shouted back, getting up off of the lumpy hotel mattress she had been sitting on for the past hour. She tossed the Grimoire into her bag, and then practically ran out of the small, cramped room she shared with her brother. Their hotel room was small, with only two beds. But it was all that they could afford.

"Are you alright?" she asked, rushing to her brother's side. There was, in fact, blood in her brother's hand. He shook her off though, and wiped his hand on his jeans.

"Fine, Anya, let's just get going. We're already late." Connor cursed and checked his watch again. He hated being late, especially for a meeting as important as the one they were about to attend.

"Relax, Connor, alright? She'll still be there even if we're five minutes late," Anya said with a light tone, trying to get her brother to calm down.

He just gave her a look. It was the look Anya received from her brother daily. It was a "you are such a child. You don't understand anything" look. It made her feel about two inches tall.

Connor narrowed his eyes at a locket that just peeked out of Anya's shirt. It was an old, silver locket incrusted with blue jewels. It had been passed down in the Lewis family for generations. It was the second most valuable item Anya owned.

"What are you wearing?" he growled, and Anya's heart skipped a beat in her chest. She hated it when Connor was in one of his moods. It seemed that he was always in a bad mood lately, though she could understand why.

"Connor-" but he already ripped the locket off of her neck and threw it across the room. Then he turned back to look at his sister, his blue eyes filled with cold anger.

"I don't _ever _want to see you with anything of _hers _ever again, got it?" he growled.

Anya nodded slowly, hoping she didn't look as scared as she felt. "Alright," she said, trying not to look at the locket across the room. How long had she worn that necklace? It meant a lot to her, it made her feel like she belonged to her family.

And that was why Connor hated the necklace so much, why he always had, especially now. Because he didn't belong, he didn't fit into the Lewis clan of witches. He never had.

"Let's go," she said quietly, "after you."

In a blink of an eye, Connor was gone from the hotel room. She sighed. He knew using his vampire abilities only made his condition worse. He just ignored her, though. Anya never had a voice around Connor. He refused to let his baby sister boss him around.

Her green eyes darted to the lonely locket in the corner. Before she could stop herself, the locket flew to her, and Anya stuffed it into her bag. Even after their falling out, Anya still felt the need to hold onto a piece of their family.

She could only hope that Connor would never find out about what she kept in her bag.

_~LIP~_

"_Do you know what you have done, Connor? To this family?Tto yourself?"_

"_I did what I had to do! I am done with being the only powerless one in this family! Now I am just as strong as all of you!"_

"_No, I will not have it. I will not have my son become an abomination!"_

"Mom, don't!"

Anya gasped as she sat up, her heart beating wildly. For weeks she had been reliving the life changing argument over and over and over again in her dreams. It was the consequences of that fight that had Anya and Connor in that car, driving off to meet a witch three hours away.

"_Honey, do you know where your brother is?"_

_Anya looked up at her mother, Laura Lewis. Everyone always said how much she looked like her mother, but Laura had blue eyes instead of Anya's green. She had her father's eyes, while Connor had their mother's._

_Anya shook her head while her attention remained on the history textbook in front of her. She had to read an entire chapter by Monday. Anya hated school, she preferred magic._

"_Are you sure, Anya? You two are attached at the hip." _

_Anya just rolled her eyes at her aunt Molly. Her family was always constantly over at her house. The Lewis clan, they were; an unbreakable family of strong, powerful witches._

"_I haven't seen him in two days," she replied without looking up from her textbook. "Now really guys. Do you want me to fail American History?"_

_Molly and Laura exchanged worried glances. Two days ago, Laura and Connor had had a terrible fight. They were always fighting, almost constantly. Connor always felt like he didn't belong to the Lewis clan of strong, powerful witches, mostly because he wasn't a witch. He was human, just like his and Anya's father, who had died a few years after Anya was born. _

_Connor also didn't agree with his family's morals. He didn't agree with what they stood for. He didn't like that they weren't using their power to their highest potential. Because of that, Anya was the only one he ever really spoke to, the only one who seemed to give a damn about him._

_Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Laura and Molly frowned at each other, before Laura walked to the front door and answered it. _

"_Can I- Connor? Where have you been? I've been worried!"_

_Connor smirked at his mother, and she instantly could tell that something was off about her son. "Hey, mom, can I come in?"_

_It was those words, those four words, can I come in, that made Laura realize something really was wrong with her son. She frowned, sensing the dark aura that practically radiated from Connor. _

_She gasped when she finally put it together. Her eyes widened. No, Connor wouldn't be that stupid. He wouldn't ruin his life like that. He wouldn't disgrace his family like that. Connor had issues, but Laura couldn't help but think that she raised a good boy, a good son._

"_What did you do?"_ _Laura's voice came out as a breathless whisper. _

_Connor smirked at his mother, blue eyes full of unforgiving malice._ "_I think you know what I did, mom. I made myself better. I made myself a vampire."_

_Molly, who had been listening from the kitchen, snapped her head up at that sentence. Had she misheard? She must have. There was no way Connor would do such a thing._

_Because, to the Lewis witches, vampires were abominations of nature. They were hideous, terrible, evil monsters. They were something to stay as far away from as possible. They were to be hated, and to be hunted down and killed when possible._

_But Connor was always fascinated by vampires. And that was why Anya didn't mind vampires, didn't loathe them like her family, because of her brother's fascination. She always used to follow her brother around, even after she grew up. She idolized her brother, loved him while the rest of their family turned their backs on him and shut him out._

"_Do you know what you have done, Connor? To this family? To yourself?" Laura shouted at her son, fury rushing through her, hot as fire._

"_I did what I had to do! I am done with being the only powerless one in this family! Now I am just as strong as all of you!" Connor hissed back at her, the only thing keeping him from lunging at his mother was the protective barrier the house provided._

"_No, I will not have it. I will not have my son become an abomination!"_

_Anya looked up from her textbook then. "What's going on, Aunt Molly?" she asked, looking to her aunt._

_Molly just shook her head. "Do your homework, Anya."_

_She didn't listen, though. Anya stood up and made towards the front door, but Molly blocked her path. "Sit down, Anya!" she hissed at her niece._

"_Why are Connor and mom fighting?" she asked, trying to sneak a peek at the argument going on at her front door._

"_Your brother ruined his life," Molly said, pushing her back towards the kitchen table. "Now do your homework, for God's sake."_

_There was a sudden shout, and then a loud thump, that brought Anya's attention to the front lawn. She peeked out the window to see her mother chanting spells while Connor twisted on the grass in pain._

_She gasped, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Why would their mom use her magic on Connor? Why would she try to hurt her son?_

_Then Anya noticed the red eyes and fangs. It suddenly all made sense; her aunt's words and her mother's spells._

_Connor was a vampire. _

_Anya had to stop her mother._

_She ran from the window, pushing Molly aside. "Anya, stay out of it!" she shouted after her niece, but Anya didn't listen. _

"_Mom, stop it! You're killing him!" Anya shrieked as she burst out of the house and ran towards her mother and brother._

_But it was too late. With a final Latin chant and a twist of Laura's hand, Connor let out a pain-filled scream, eyes rolling back into his head, spine twisting as his mother's spell ran through his body. And then he collapsed onto the ground, a sweaty heap._

_Laura stared at her son with no regret. "No son of mine will be a vampire," she said coolly, turning to face her daughter._

_Anya's green eyes were horror-filled. "What did you do?" she whispered._

_A sudden growl filled the air. Laura looked back at Connor just in time to have him tear into her throat. Her blue eyes widened in shock as he drank her blood. And when he was done, Connor dropped his mother to the ground. Her blue eyes stared up, blank and empty._

_Laura Lewis was dead._

"_Mom!" Anya gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked up at Connor, blood covering his face, no remorse in his eyes._

"_What a bitch," he muttered._

"_Laura!" A sob fell from Molly's throat as she stumbled onto the front porch. "No, Laura!"_

_Connor looked down at his little sister. "You coming, Anya?" he asked casually, as if they were just going to the mall or to the movies. When, in reality, they had to run now, from their own family._

_Anya looked to her brother to her dead mother to her sobbing aunt. She was in shock. Her brain couldn't process what had just happened. Her gaze remained on her brother. She couldn't leave him. He needed her now. They needed each other._

"_I'm with you, Connor. Always."_

"We're here, finally."

Now, three weeks later, Anya and Connor were in some small town in Georgia, looking for a witch that could help them. They needed a witch to tell them exactly what Laura had done to Connor, and how they could cure him.

Ever since the spell his mother had put on him, it was almost as if Connor was slowly dying. He could feel himself grow weaker with each passing day. He coughed up blood constantly. Using compulsion drained him quickly. Both Lewis siblings were convinced that he was, in fact, dying.

"Are you Annie?" Anya asked as she and Connor walked into the bar. A young black woman looked up at them and smiled.

"That'd be me. Let me guess, you're the baby witch and vamp I talked to on the phone earlier, right?" she asked, tossing the rag she had been using to wipe glasses onto the bar.

Anya nodded. "Yeah. I'm Anya Lewis and that's my brother, Connor. He's the vampire."

Annie's eyebrows shot up. "Lewis, you say? As in the vamp-hating, all powerful, witch clan, Lewis?" she asked.

Anya nodded. "That'd be the one," she said lightly.

"Your family must've been thrilled when you turned, weren't they?" She asked Connor sarcastically.

"They weren't too happy," he admitted. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Can you help us or not?" he asked bluntly.

Anya just sighed at her brother's lack of manners. "Of course I can," Annie said. "Come on up here."

Anya followed her brother to the bar. "What are you going to do?" she asked worriedly. "Will it hurt him?"

Connor rolled his eyes at his sister. "Not in the slightest," Annie replied, offering Connor her hands. After a pause of hesitation, Connor took them.

He gasped slightly, as Annie's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Her eyes closed and her lips pursed as she went through Connor's mind, looking for the answer to the Lewis siblings' questions. _What's wrong with Connor and how can we fix it?_

After a minute or so, Annie let go of Connor's hands and opened her eyes. "Uh oh," she said.

Anya's stomach sank, "Uh oh?"

She looked at Connor. "You're dying," she told him bluntly.

It was exactly what they had thought. Anya's shoulders slumped and Connor looked pale at the news.

"Whatever spell your mother cast on you, would have killed you instantly had you been human. But since you're a vampire, it's killing you slowly. But it's definitely killing you," Annie explained.

"How long do I have?" Connor asked her, his voice not shaky in the slightest, though he looked even paler.

"A couple months at the most," she answered with a sigh.

"How do we stop it?" Anya asked, her voice very shaky.

"You can't," Annie answered, looking at the young witch with pity in her brown eyes. "The only person in the world who could undo the spell is your mother, but she's dead."

"So there's _nothing?" _Anya pried as Connor went silent at his fate. "He's just, _dead?"_

"Well, I wouldn't say _anything_," Annie said after a second thought. "There's something."

"What?" Anya demanded. "What is it?"

"It's a long shot, is what it is. It was probably destroyed centuries ago, but-" Annie cut herself off.

"What are you talking about?" Connor asked, annoyed with the witch.

She took a deep breath. "When vampires were first created a thousand years ago, another thing was created with it. A stone, of immortality, that is. It could give one vampire complete immortality. Which means nothing could ever kill it. Not a stake or a spell, nothing. It would undo your mother's spell completely, and you wouldn't be dying any longer," Annie explained. "They call it the Astrum Stone."

"Where is this stone?" Connor demanded. He wanted it. He wanted it so badly.

Annie shrugged. "With the originals, I assume," she said. "It's their stone, after all."

Anya's eyebrows rose. "The originals? As in the original vampires? But- they're not real. They're just legends!"

Annie grinned at her. "Oh, the originals are very real. And they're in Mystic Falls, Virginia, as we speak. I know that for a fact."

Connor looked down at her sister. He was suddenly filled with hope. Maybe he wouldn't have to die after all. "What do you think, Anya?"

She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. "I think we're going to Mystic Falls."

**_~LIP~_**

**A/N:** huge shout out to I'm Plotting Something Evil who pretty much came up with all the ground work for this story- the plot, the title, the character names and who portrays Connor and Anya. She's also betaing this story too. She does it all ;)

Anya is portrayed by Willa Holland and Connor is portrayed by Hunter Parrish.

We'll see some Kol next chapter, promise :)

Gimme some reviews pretty please?

~Abby!


	2. another witch in town

**Chapter two**

_Another witch in town_

"Come on, Anya, we should get going," Connor said, grabbing his sister's arm and pulling her towards the door.

Anya pulled free though. "Wait, Connor. I have a few questions for Annie first," she said, frowning slightly.

Connor rolled his eyes. "Come on, Anya-" he said, but she cut him off.

"Go start the truck, alright? I'll be out there in five minutes tops, I promise," she said lightly.

Connor sighed, but nodded. "Fine, I'm leaving you here if you're not out in five minutes, okay?" he threatened, before leaving the two witches alone.

"What's on your mind, Sweet Girl?" Annie asked her with a raise of her eyebrow.

"I have a question about this Astrum Stone," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think you're lying, but I still have my doubts about it."

"Fire away," she said. "I'll answer any questions I'm able to."

"First, why haven't the originals used the stone on themselves, if they have it? Why wouldn't they grant themselves that immortality?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because they can't. The stone won't work on them," Annie said. "Do you know the story of how vampires were created?"

Anya nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so. About a thousand years ago, a witch lost a child to the wolves, so she cast a spell on her husband and children and turned them into vampires, so that she'd never have to lose them. Is that right?"

Annie nodded. "Esther, was the witch's name. When she cast the spell on her family, she unknowingly created the Astrum Stone as well. It was created by an excess of magic from the spell. When Esther discovered the stone, she realized how dangerous it could be, if any of her children learned how to use it. So Esther made it so that the stone wouldn't work on the original vampires. It would simply turn to dust if they tried to use it on themselves," she explained.

"Then why do they still have it?" Anya asked curiously. "If they can't use it, why not throw it away or something?"

"Anya, I don't think you understand just how powerful this stone is," Annie said. "It's indestructible. It can't be destroyed. And if the wrong people found the stone, it could spell trouble for the originals. So they kept the stone safe from those people."

Anya nodded. That made sense. Annie was right, though. She couldn't quite grasp just how powerful, how important this stone was. It granted true immortality. Whoever took the stone's power could never die. Not from a wooden stake or a witch's spell nothing could ever kill them.

And that reminded Anya of yet another hole in the Astrum Stone.

"The first thing my mom ever taught me about magic was that everything had a weakness in this world. Nothing could be truly immortal. Nature would be unbalanced if that wasn't the case," Anya said. "If that's true- and I know it is- than how can this stone grant complete immortality?"

"The witch who does the spell that grants a vampire the immortality of the stone becomes the keeper of the stone," Annie explained. "The keeper is the only person in existence capable of killing the vampire they made immortal. They can withdraw the magic from the vampire if they wish too. That's the weakness, that's what keeps nature balanced."

Anya nodded. They wouldn't have to worry about that, though. Anya would become the keeper, and then Connor really would be immortal. It was perfect, because she'd never hurt Connor, never take away his immortality.

"Do you have any more questions?" Annie asked her.

Anya shook her head slowly. "I don't think so," she said. "Thank you, Annie, for anything," she said honestly.

Annie smiled slightly. "Good luck, Anya, I think you'll need it."

"You're probably right," Anya said, before turning around and walking out of the witch's bar.

_**~LIP~**_

A few days had passed since Anya and Connor had met with Annie. Those few days had been spent researching the originals, finding out everything they could about them. The two needed a plan, and it needed to be a good one if they were going to be able to pull it off.

"Thank you, Kelly, really," Anya said, as she hung up on the phone with a vampire who had been a huge help.

"Who was that?" Connor asked, not bothering to look up from his pages of notes about the originals.

"A vampire named Kelly," Anya explained. "She used to hang around the originals in the 14th century. She didn't even think twice about telling me everything she knew about them."

"Anything good you found out, anything useful?" Connor said, still not looking up.

"Yes, actually. Granted, the first ten minutes were mostly just about who was best in bed, but Kelly did have some helpful knowledge about them," Anya said, sitting down at the same table as her brother.

"And what would that be?"

"She told me that Elijah is the oldest, the most responsible, so it would make sense that he would have the stone. Klaus is power hungry, so he mostly has it," she said, before smiling. "So, We'll just have to go through Klaus."

Connor shook his head. "Not necessarily," he said. "I'm not focused on who has the stone, Anya. All that matters is that it's with the family. I'm more worried about how we're going to get into the family. And I think I figured it all out."

Anya frowned, a little put out. "Oh, really?" she said. "What's your plan?"

"Kol Mikaelson," he said, finally looking up from his notes. There was a smirk on his lips. "That's my plan."

Anya's frowned deepened. She was confused. What did Connor mean by that? The past three days, Anya had learned a great deal about Kol, about the entire original family. Kol was the youngest boy, the second youngest out of the whole family. He was impulsive and violent and, from what she had learned, mostly from Kelly, women frequented his bed. But a good share of them ended up dead.

Anya was a little afraid of what Connor's plan had to do with Kol.

"How so?" she asked, pushing her hair out of her face. She had a feeling she knew what Connor's plan was. And she didn't like it. Not at all. _It's for Connor, _she told herself silently. _You'd do anything for Connor._

"From what my sources tell me, Kol has a weakness for pretty girls with long eyelashes and blunt attitudes." Connor gave his sister a pointed look. "Sound familiar to you?"

Anya's eyes widened. "You want _me _to, what, seduce him into giving me the stone?" she asked disbelievingly.

Connor shrugged. "If that's what you have to do," he said. "I just want the stone that'll save my life, Anya. And I know that the only way we'll even have a shot at getting it is if you somehow worm your way into Kol's heart. If you have to sleep with him in the process, fine, so be it. Just do it, okay?"

Anya tried not to flinch at Connor's harsh tone. "Fine," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I do it, okay? Whatever you want, Connor."

"Good," he said, already focused on his notes. "Now get out, Anya. I have to come up with a more solid plan and you're distracting."

Anya nodded, and barely gave her brother a glance, before she turned around and walked out of the room.

_**~LIP~**_

Connor and Anya managed to get a small house in Mystic Falls. It required Connor to use compulsion, and he was drained of energy after, but it was necessary. Now Anya lay in bed in a small room in Mystic Falls. All she could think about was how, not even a month ago, she was lying in her bed, her mom was alive, and Connor wasn't dying. Life was normal then. Life was good then.

Now she had to seduce an original who was more than likely going to tear her throat out before she got anywhere near the Astrum stone.

More than anything, Anya missed her mom. Laura wasn't perfect. What she had done to Connor was a terrible, terrible thing to do to your child, but she was her mother. She taught Anya all about magic. She took her shopping and talked with her about boys. She was her mom and Anya had loved her very much.

And there was a small part of her that hated Connor for killing their mother. But it was hidden deep down, pushed under her loyalty and love for him, along with her fear that he'll die. But, each day, the part of her got a tiny bit bigger. Eventually, one day, it would cause Anya to snap.

When Anya finally pulled herself out of bed, she hadn't slept at all. But she had to go into town, get a feel for Mystic Falls. Maybe she'd see Kol, and get a feel for him as well.

She'd definitely get some coffee as well. But nothing would help the heavy bags under her eyes.

"Where are you going?" Connor asked his sister half an hour later, when she walked towards the door, wearing jeans and green long sleeved shirt that brought out her eyes. Her brown hair was wavy and still wet from her shower. Her bag was resting on her shoulder, her Grimoire and her mother's necklace still inside it.

"Just to go looking around the town," she said with a shrug. "Do some recon."

Connor nodded slowly. "Fine," he said. He didn't add a 'be careful.' He just went back to studying the notes about the originals he should have had memorized by that point.

Barely covering her sigh, Anya walked out of the house that would never be home to her, and got into the old truck that had a tendency to break down, and drove into town.

Her first stop was "The Mystic Grill." Coffee was still calling Anya's name, and she knew that it would be a good place to see the denizens of Mystic Falls. From what some of the many people she had talked to over the past three days of research, the town was like a Halloween party 365 days a year. Vampires, werewolves, witches, doppelgangers even. It made Anya curious.

"Here's your coffee."

Anya looked up to see a young man around her age set her coffee down in front of her. She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"No problem." Then he frowned at her. "If you don't mind me asking, are you new here?"

"Yeah, I am. How'd you know?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This is Mystic Falls," he said with a shrug. "Everybody knows everybody here."

"Well, I'm Anya Lewis," she said, holding out her hand.

"Matt Donovan," he said, shaking it. "Welcome to Mystic Falls."

"Thanks," she said.

As Matt went back to work, Anya stirred her coffee and took in the business of the Grill. So far, no one in particular stuck out to her. Then she felt a presence among the body of strangers that were in the Grill. It wasn't exactly a familiar presence, but it reminded her of her family. She had the exact same feeling around her mother and her aunt and cousins. Come to think of it, she felt the way around Annie as well.

It didn't take Anya long to put it together. There was another witch in the bar.

She craned her neck, looking for the boy or girl. She couldn't help but feel a little excited. She hadn't had a lot of human contact ever since she ran away from home, and Connor was nowhere near good company. And seeing another witch would remind her of her family, of home.

The other witch seemed to sense her as well. Because a few seconds later, an almost dazed looking girl walked up to her. "Hi," she said, looking confused.

Anya beamed at her, sitting up in her seat. "Hi," she said. "I'm Anya."

"Bonnie," she replied, frowning almost. "You're going to think I'm completely crazy, but are you a-"

"-Witch?" Anya finished for her. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I am. And you're one too, right?"

Bonnie nodded. "How did I know that? How did _you _know that?" she asked, confused.

Anya shrugged. "Witches can just do that, sort of sense each other," she explained.

Bonnie looked at a loss for words. Anya was just happy to meet another witch. It put her in a better mood. "Well, why don't you sit down and we can talk about, yeah know, witch stuff-"

"Oh, no," Bonnie cut Anya off with a sigh, looking over her shoulder at the door.

"What's 'oh no?'" she questioned, already turning around. Then her eyes widened slightly. "Oh no," she whispered to herself.

Walking through the door, an irritating grin on his face, was the man Anya had to use to save her brother's life. Kol Mikaelson.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Guest, Shannon The Original, UrieNanashi, BiteMeVampire1, and I'm Plotting Something Evil for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	3. The Art of Seduction

**Chapter three**

_The art of seduction_

Anya froze in her spot, green eyes widening as she watch the one and only Kol Mikaelson make his way over to the bar. She felt Bonnie stare at her, but her attention was focused on the original vampire.

The original vampire she had to seduce.

Anya had no practice in the art of seduction. The longest relationship she had ever had lasted a couple weeks, almost a month. Her sex life was all but nonexistent. And staring at a vampire who had a thousand years of life experience on her made any confidence she had in her ability to seduce him melt away.

She couldn't do it. Even if she did know what she was doing in the sex department, Kol would see through her in a second. Then he'd kill her. Then Connor would be screwed, because any chance he had at living would have died with her.

She tore her gaze away from Kol, fear taking her over. She looked at Bonnie, who looked confused by the witch she had just met.

"I have to go," Anya blurted out, causing Bonnie to frown and her eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

"Wait, what? We still have to-" Bonnie stated to say, but Anya was already standing up.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just… I can't do this right now," she said apologetically, eyes flickering over to Kol, who remained oblivious to the two witches talking.

"Anya, what's going on?" Bonnie asked, looking back over to Kol. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Do you know _him?" _

By the way Bonnie said 'him', Anya knew that Bonnie knew about the originals, and wasn't their biggest fan. Her voice had been full of disdain when she referred to Kol.

Anya shook her head at the witch. "No, I don't. But I'm going to have to," she said cryptically, before walking away from the booth. She didn't want Bonnie to ask her anymore questions. She had already said too much to a person she didn't even know. If Connor ever found out, he wouldn't be very happy with her.

In her hurry to get out of the Mystic Grill, Anya didn't notice Kol look at her just as she slipped out of the door. All the original saw was her long, brown hair, the back of her shirt, and a glimpse of her face, looking harried in her quest to get out of the Grill as soon as possible.

But that one glimpse of Anya Lewis was enough to pique his curiosity of the girl.

He was sure he'd see her again. One way or another.

_**~LIP~**_

Anya spent the rest of the day walking aimlessly around Mystic Falls. She was starting to realize just how dangerous this town really was, though. There were vampires and witches running amuck. She wouldn't be surprised if werewolves were here too. The town seemed like a hotspot for supernatural activity.

She didn't know what she'd do. Connor wanted her to get close to Kol, to seduce him, to get close to him. But Anya didn't think she was capable of doing that. She didn't have the skills to seduce Kol. Besides, how oblivious would an original vampire really be to plans to use him for information about an immortality stone?

He would kill her for sure. Anya was convinced about that.

She sat down on a bench, trying to calm herself down before she had a panic attack. Connor was going to be so mad at her, for letting an attempt to get close to Kol just slip through her fingers. She was mad at herself. She had agreed to seduce Kol, and now she was backing out of it.

If Anya didn't, Connor would die in the next few months. And it would be all her fault.

Closing her eyes, Anya took deep breaths. Then, suddenly, her phone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hello?" she said, figuring it was Connor.

"_Anya! Thank God you're alright! I was worried that Connor killed you."_

Anya froze, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. How did she get her number? Connor had destroyed both of their cellphones and gotten them new ones so that their family couldn't track them.

"Aunt Molly?" she whispered, confused.

She could practically hear her aunt's smile of relief. _"Hey kiddo, how are you?" _she asked, sounding breathless with relief of getting ahold of her niece.

"I… I don't think I'm supposed to be talking to you," Anya said uncertainly, though she couldn't help but relax at her aunt's voice. She had yearned for the comfort of family the last few weeks while she and Connor had been on the run.

"_Wait, Anya! Please, just talk to me! I've missed sweetie!" _Molly said desperately.

Anya sighed. She really didn't want to hang up on her aunt, but she knew she should. It wasn't smart, to be talking to the people who wanted her brother dead. But since those people were her family, it complicated things.

She ran her hand over her face, before making a decision. She'd just talk to Molly for a few more minutes. It wasn't like she'd tell her their plan to save Connor and where they were. She'd just talk to her aunt, who she missed more than she should.

"Okay, fine. You have two minutes. Why'd you call?" Anya tried to sound like she was mad Molly called her, but she was sure she failed.

"_I just want to make sure that you are okay, Anya," _Molly said. _"Have you been eating? Has Connor hurt you at all?"_

Anya frowned. "No, of course not. Connor would never hurt me," she said indignantly.

"_Honey, he's not Connor anymore. He's a vampire. And he'd kill you in a heartbeat, just like he killed your mother and my sister. I mean, he kidnapped you," _Molly argued.

"Connor did _not _kidnap me!" Anya snapped. "I went with him because he's my brother. I don't care if he's human or a vampire or the Loch Ness Monster. He's my brother, and that'll never change."

"_Anya, you're right. I'm sorry-" _Molly started to say, but it was too late.

Anya hung up on her aunt, and then, just to be safe, she smashed her phone on the ground. That way her aunt could never call her back.

Anya sighed and stood up, ignoring the looks from passing pedestrians.

She had been right; Connor was going to be furious with her.

_**~LIP~**_

The house was silent as Anya slipped inside. She hoped that Connor wouldn't notice her, as she tried to walk past him at the kitchen table, on her way to her bedroom. But luck had never been on Anya's side.

"Did you make any progress today, Anya?" Connor asked without looking up from the stack of papers he had been reading.

Anya stopped in her steps and bit her lip. She didn't say anything, though.

Connor looked up and frowned at his sister. He knew her like the back of his hand. "What did you do, Anya?" he asked in a low voice, his blue eyes darkening in anger already.

"N-nothing, Connor," she said, but Anya had never been capable of lying to her brother. He knew that, too.

"You have five seconds to tell me what you did," Connor growled, standing up from his seat.

She sighed. "Alright, fine." She took a deep breath. "I saw Kol."

Connor straightened slightly, but he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. "And?" he prompted. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," she sighed.

Connor's face flushed with anger. "Nothing?" he growled. "How could you just do nothing? We don't have all the time in the world, you know!"

"I'm sorry!" she cried out, taking two steps away from her brother in fear. "I choked, Connor, I'm sorry. It won't happen next time. I promise."

"It better not." He stared at his sister curiously. That wasn't all that happened. He could tell just by the look on her face. "What else, Anya?"

She looked down at her shoes, her hair hiding her face. "I talked to Molly," she whispered, hoping that he wouldn't hear her.

But luck had never been on Anya's side.

A growl, more animal than man, erupted from Connor's throat. In a second, Anya was slammed against a wall, and her shoulder ached in pain. _"What?" _he snarled, his face contorted in anger.

"I'm sorry, Connor! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I didn't tell her anything, I swear!"

Connor's grip on his sister's arms was extraordinarily painful. Anya gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. "I'm sorry, Connor. Please, you're hurting me."

Connor didn't loosen his grip on his sister.

"You're hurting me!" Anya finally cried out, unable to take the pain any longer.

With a look of disgust, Connor let go of Anya, as if touching her burned him. He turned his back on her, clearly trying to calm himself down. He didn't want to rip her throat out.

Who else would help him save his life?

"Get out of my sight, Anya," he growled.

She bit her lip, eyes stinging. She felt so ashamed of herself. How had she been so stupid, talking to Molly? How would that seem like a good idea?

As she made her way to her bedroom, she knew that she had to find out a way to redeem herself to Connor. She had to make him forgive her.

And Anya thought that she knew the perfect way to do just that.

_**~LIP~**_

Anya was back at the Mystic Grill, though this time she was wearing clothes much sexier than the jeans and long sleeve shirt she had been wearing that morning.

This time, she wanted Kol to be there.

She sat down at the bar, using the fake ID Connor had made her years ago to order herself a few shots. She tried her best not to psych herself out, but it wasn't working too well. After she did her first shot, though, Anya got some of her confidence back.

Now all she had to do was sit and wait for Kol to show up. If she was really lucky, he'd make the first move.

This time, luck was on Anya's side.

She had to wait only ten minutes until she felt someone sit down at her left side.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Anya closed her eyes for a brief second.

Now was the time for Anya Lewis to Seduce Kol Mikaelson.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **I am so sorry for not updating, guys!

Thank you to: belladu57, , BiteMeVampire1, sez23, Lourdes08, I'm Plotting Something Evil, and appreciation for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	4. Little Witch

**Chapter four**

_Little Witch_

"_The first thing you need to know about men, Anya," Aunt Molly said to her niece, as the fourteen year old prepared for her first date, "is that they're easily manipulated by short skirts and low neck lines. That's why 'man' is in 'manipulate.'"_

_Anya blushed at the thought. She didn't want to manipulate anybody. She just wanted her first date to go well. And maybe, if it went really well, she'd get her first kiss out of it as well._

"_The second thing you need to know is that most men will say or do anything to get into your pants," Molly continued, knowing that if Anya's mother walked in on them at that second, she'd be in big trouble. _

"_My what?" Anya said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion._

_Molly sighed. "Alright, that's another conversation for another time," she muttered to herself. "Let's just focus on the basics, alright?"_

_Anya nodded, feeling more nervous with every word Molly spoke. "It's really all about body language, Anya," her aunt said. "The simplest of touches can speak pages of words. It's always good to keep skin contact throughout the date. It's a good way to let the guy know you're interested."_

_Anya nodded again, committing everything Molly said to memory. She fiddled with her hair as she listened to her aunt tell her how to flirt with guys. _

"_Here, Anya," Molly said suddenly, taking her charm bracelet off of her wrist and clasping it onto Anya's fragile one. "For good luck."_

_Anya stared at the bracelet with wide eyes, listening to the silver charms clink softly against another, like music. She had always loved her aunt's bracelet, and now it was hers._

_Molly's thumb brushed gently against the most prominent charm hanging from the bracelet. It was a simple design, made up of loops and lines and curves. It was beautiful, yet always sent chills down Anya's spine. _

"_It's our family's sigil," Molly explained. "It will protect you from harm, Anya, as it has protected many Lewis witches before us." She flipped the charm over and pointed to the words inscribed in the charm._

"_Ut sanguinem nostrum nostra salus." Molly whispered the Latin words softly, more to herself than to Anya._

_But Anya knew the words all too well. "May our blood be our salvation," she translated. It was the Lewis family byword, going back centuries. It had been drilled into Anya's head ever since she was a child._

_Molly broke the silence by clearing her throat. "The most important thing you need to know about men, Anya," she said as she looked up at her niece, a light smirk on her lips. "Is that you can't trust them as far as you can throw them."_

Anya took a deep breath to calm her breathing. She knew that Kol could hear her heart pounding wildly in her chest. He'd know that something was up if she didn't calm herself down.

She knew that she was in a dangerous situation, being shoulder to shoulder with an original vampire, but if worse came to worse, she had her magic to momentarily incapacitate him while she made a break for it. It wasn't a fool proof plan, but it would do.

"And what's your name, Love?" Kol asked, bringing her attention back to him and the task at hand.

Anya had to admit, Kol was attractive, very attractive. And there was something about him that drew women in like moths to a flame. She didn't know if it was his smirk, his accent, or his charm. Maybe it was a mixture of all three. Whatever it was, it would have been highly effective on her had she not been deathly afraid of him.

Even with her fear, Anya was still affected by how intoxicating Kol Mikaelson was.

"_Chin up, back straight, shoulders back," _Anya could hear her aunt saying in her head. _"Guys find confidence sexy."_

Anya lifted her head up and rolled her shoulders back, forcing a smile on her lips that she hoped was sultry and not fearful. "Anya," she replied, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "My name is Anya. And what would yours be?"

She placed a hand gently on Kol's arm, and she briefly saw his eyebrows raise in surprise, before her smirk returned, this time wider than before. "Kol," he answered, almost as if he was mocking her. "My name is Kol. A true pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Anya."

His brown eyes were alight with what Anya could only assume was mischief, as he lifted her hand from his arm and brought it to his lips. She would have been lying if she had said her heart hadn't skipped a beat when he kissed her hand. And by the way his smirk widened even more, Anya knew that Kol knew the effect he was having on her.

When he pulled her hand away from his lips, his fingers accidently brushed the charm bracelet hanging from her wrist, causing the dozens of charms to tinkle softly. _"For good luck," _Molly had said when she had given her the charm bracelet.

Anya had had the feeling that she could use all the luck she could get that night.

"What an… interesting charm bracelet," Kol said, frowning slightly as several charms caught his eye.

"Thank you," Anya said politely. "It's a family heirloom."

"Hmm," Kol said, his eyebrows furrowing when he lifted one charm up so he could see it better.

Anya's heart skipped when she realized it was the charm with her family sigil on it.

She had the urge to rip her wrist away from Kol's grasp, but, as if reading her thoughts, he gripped her wrist almost painfully tight in his free hand so that she couldn't stop him from studying the charm.

When he flipped it over to read the inscription, Anya stopped breathing.

"Ut sanguinem nostrum nostra salus," he muttered to himself, as if he understood what the old words meant perfectly. "May our blood be our salvation."

Suddenly, a twisted smile formed on Kol's face, and he slowly looked up at Anya. "You're a witch."

All the blood drained from Anya's face. Her cover had been blown. Every instinct she had screamed at her to run as fast as she possibly could from Kol. But even if she could make it three feet before Kol would ultimately block her path, Anya had seemingly lost control of her legs at that moment.

She hadn't taken that into account when she was planning her escape plan.

"Not only are you a witch," Kol continued, seeming completely entertained and amused by the whole situation, "you're a Lewis witch."

Anya gulped and averted her gaze, but didn't say anything in response.

"And if you're a witch," Kol said, "then you know what I am. And I have a feeling, Little Witch, that you've known what I am since the moment you walked into this bar. Maybe even before. But you still let me flirt with you. You even flirted back. Do you know what that tells me, Little Witch?"

Anya didn't respond, but, then again, Kol didn't really expect her to.

"It tells me that you want something from me."

Anya closed her eyes, wishing she was anywhere but where she was at that moment.

Kol leaned into Anya. He was so close that she could feel his breath against her cheek whenever he talked.

"Now, tell me, Little Witch," he said, his tone suddenly losing its amusement it had had before. "What could a witch such as yourself, from a clan of witches known distinctly for their prejudice against vampires, want from an original vampire such as myself?"

"If I tell you, then you'll never give it to me, just out of principle," Anya blurted out before she could stop herself, and Kol grinned at her, still finding her amusing even after finding out that she was a witch who just wanted something from him, nothing more.

"Very true," Kol said. "Maybe you're smarter and less naïve than I give you credit for, Little Witch."

Kol stood up then, and Anya couldn't help but be relieved, knowing that the humiliating and terrifying first meeting with Kol would soon be over. "I'm afraid I must leave, Little Witch," he said almost regretfully. "A shame, really. I find you rather amusing. I knew you were going to be interesting, as soon as I saw you." Kol brushed his lips against Anya's knuckles again, still smirking as he did so.

"Until next time, Anya."

Anya closed her eyes, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, her fingers trembling slightly against the bar table. When she opened them, Kol was gone and she was all alone in the bar that smelled like oak and stale beer.

"_There's a type of man that you need to look out for, Anya," Molly said as Anya made sure her curled hair was perfect. "It's the type of man that loves a chase. Really, he loves it more than the prize he gets at the end. It's the type of man who can make you feel like a queen one minute, then completely ruin you the next. This man is reckless and impulsive and destructive, yet charming and intoxicating and uncontrollably sexy."_

_Molly let out an almost dream like sigh, as if remembering the days when she was the one getting ready for dates and taking advice from her beloved aunt. "You better watch out for that kind of man, Anya," she said in a kind of tone that made it perfectly clear just how serious she was._

"_Because that is the type of man who will break you until there's nothing left to break."_

_**~LIP~**_

Anya was terrified of going home. She was afraid of the repercussions of her mistake of talking to her aunt Molly that afternoon. She hoped Connor wasn't still angry with her, but knew that he, more than likely, was. Connor wasn't one to forget his anger so quickly. Especially when it came to Anya.

Still, she knew she couldn't wander around Mystic Falls forever. She had to return home eventually and pray that her development with Kol would appease her brother enough to forgive her, at least a little bit. Kol had, after all, said that she interested him, and made it clear they would be seeing each other again, maybe sometime soon.

It was almost midnight when Anya pulled her key out of her purse and unlocked the front door. She took a deep breath before walking into the kitchen.

"Connor?" she called out tentatively, looking around for her brother. Piles after piles of paper were stacked on the kitchen table, highlighters and pens strewn about, along with glasses of cold blood left about. Connor had always been very messy.

There was no sign of her brother as Anya shrugged off her coat and walked towards the living room. "Connor, are you here?" she called out, frowning with worry. They had agreed that he wouldn't leave the house. It wasn't safe for anybody if the spell slowly killing him made a sudden attack and turned him rabid.

Still, there was no sign of Connor Lewis anywhere.

Anya sighed and ran a hand through her hair. As she walked towards Connor's bedroom, she came across a puddle of dark, thick liquid.

Her eyes widened in surprise and slight revulsion when she realized that it was blood.

"Oh my God, Connor," Anya whispered to herself, a hand over her mouth. What had happened while she was gone?

"Anya."

Anya whirled around at the sound of her name being whispered in a hoarse voice. That was when she saw Connor, covered in sweat and blood. His eyes were wild and feral, yet completely petrified of what was happening to him. Blood caked his mouth especially, yet still stained the rest of his body.

"Connor-" Anya started to say, taking a step towards her brother.

But then Connor vomited up blood, throwing up every ounce that was in his body. Anya gasped out loud at the horrific sight.

Before Anya could even process what was happening, Connor was on the floor, convulsing uncontrollably.

The curse had taken a terrible turn for the worst while Anya had been out.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: NIGHTANGEL21, Lauren1996007, CuciBurga, , and mindyrainbowpants for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	5. Unforgivable

**Chapter five**

_Unforgivable _

"Here, drink this."

Anya pressed a glass of blood into Connor's hands, and then watched him to make sure he drank it.

Hours had passed since she had come home to discover Connor vomiting up blood and convulsing on the floor. All because of his curse. His curse his own mother casted on him. Anya would never know how a mother would be able to put such a horrific curse on their own child.

Neither said anything. There was nothing to say. It was in Anya's nature to try to make people feel better. Every inch of her urged her to tell Connor that he would be fine- his little episode didn't mean anything. It wasn't a sign. But there would be no point. It was a lie, and Connor would know it. Then he'd just blow up at her for telling him pointless lies.

So, despite what Anya wanted to do, she knew better than to do it.

"Are you alright for now?" She asked her brother then. He nodded gruffly, staring at the white wall in front of him, like it might hold all the solutions to their problems. His blonde hair was full of sweat, and stuck to his pale forehead. In the corner of his mouth, Anya could still see dried blood.

With one last worried glance at her old brother, Anya turned around and made a beeline for the kitchen. From out under the kitchen sink, she pulled out a red bucket, old rubber gloves, a stained rag, and a bottle of bleach. Then she got to work

Anya spent the next hour scrubbing the floors of blood. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her hands hurt and her eyes watered at the scent of chlorine bleach in the air. But she eventually got what she wanted- the blood stains were gone, as was the smell. There were no remains of Connor's episode. It was almost like it never happened.

But then Anya closed her eyes and the first thing she saw was the image of her brother, covered in blood and sweat, vomiting up the thick, sticky blood that had previously been in his stomach.

Just then, Connor's cell phone rang in her pocket. She had been using it, since she had yet to get a new one.

"Hello?" she said quickly, praying the person who was calling was the person she wanted it to be.

"_Anya, honey? You called?"_

Anya gave a sigh of relief. "Annie, hey. Yeah, I did call. I need your help. Badly."

Before everything happened, the two witches Anya had always gone to were her mother and her Aunt Molly. They always gave her all the knowledge and advice she had needed when it came to magic. But since her mother was dead and calling Molly was out of the question, Anya turned to the only witch Anya knew could help.

"_What happened, Sweet Girl?" _The older witch asked her, and Anya could practically hear her frown.

Anya took a deep breath and lowered her voice, so that Connor had a worse chance of hearing her. "I think Connor's body is rejecting the change, because of his curse."

Anya heard Annie inhale sharply. _"What happened, Anya? Start at the beginning."_

"I came home a few hours ago to find my brother vomiting up blood. And he hasn't been able to keep any blood bags down ever since. I finally just gave him a glass of my blood, in case he'd be able to hold fresh blood down," she explained, before looking down at her bandaged wrist. She doubted it work, but Anya wasn't going to fail at saving Connor because she didn't exhaust every possible solution.

Annie sighed. _"I think you're right," _she said finally. _"I think the curse finally made its way to his immune system, and now it's starting to unravel the vampire in him. Like it was meant to. How long has Connor been a vampire?"_

"A month, give or take," Anya said after thinking for a bit.

"_Since he's still so young, the curse will have a worse effect on him," _Annie explained. _"How's the plan to get the stone going?"_

"It's… going," Anya said finally, her stomach sinking with every word Annie spoke. "So, what is the curse going to do? Turn Connor back into a human?"

"_No, nothing can do that," _Annie said. _"Once a human changes into a vampire, they can't turn back. There's no spell, no stone, no nothing that is capable of doing that."_

"Then what is the curse going to do to him?" Anya asked, starting to grow impatient.

"_It's going to make it so that Connor is basically going to be unable to do anything a vampire can do. It won't allow him to compel, to use his strength or speed. It will basically turn him into a vegetable. And the first step in all of that is having his body reject any blood that is put into it. He'll eventually start to desiccate."_

"You said we had months," Anya said accusingly. "Why is all of this happening now?"

"_I guess the curse is stronger than I originally thought it to be," _Annie said eventually. _"Your mother was a hell of a witch."_

"I know," Anya said through gritted teeth. "I wish I could say that about her being a parent."

Silence followed Anya's outburst. Eventually, she sighed. "What can I do? To slow down the curse, so that I have more time to get the stone?"

Annie sighed. _"I don't know if there's anything you can do, Anya."_

"No, there must be!" she exclaimed. "We're witches! We have magic! And magic has no limits!"

"_No, it really doesn't," _Annie admitted. _"But the people who wield it do. Witches have many limits, Anya. And I'm afraid that whatever can help your brother is just out of your limits."_

"I'll do anything, Annie," Anya said desperately. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

"_You don't want to start down that road, Anya," _she said warningly. _"It's a dangerous road that _never _ends well."_

"What are you talking about?" Anya said with a frown.

"_I'm talking about dark magic."_

The air left Anya. Her eyes widened just at the mention of one of the taboos of witches. Dark magic. It was especially frowned upon in the Lewis clan, as well as the other taboo of witches- vampires. Anya had grown up hearing about dark witches and the terrible things they did- as well as the terrible things that happened to them. Unlike the stories of vampires, those lessons actually sunk in.

Anya had always promised herself that dark magic was a level she wouldn't sink to, no matter what her problem was.

"You're saying that… I can help Connor only by using dark magic?" Anya's voice was barely a whisper. She felt as if dark magic was a tangible object, and it could hear her talking about it.

"_Don't, Anya," _Annie said. _"Whatever you're thinking about doing, don't do it."_

"Just tell me what will stop my brother from dying, Annie!" she snapped.

Anya felt instantly bad for snapping at the only person who had been willing to help her save Connor, but that day had been a terrible, stressful day.

Annie sighed after a long period of silence. _"Dark magic will be the only source of magic that will help you, Anya. Light magic and witches would never think of any spells that would help save a vampire. But I'm warning you, and you better listen to me. This is _not _a path you want to go down, Anya. The things that will happen to you if you divulge into this kind of magic even once… please, Anya. Just keep looking for the stone. That's what you need to do to save Connor."_

But Connor would be dead by the time Anya ever got her hands on that stupid rock.

"Thanks for all your help, Annie," Anya said in a hollow voice.

Then the line went dead when she hung up.

_**~LIP~**_

"What's going on, Anya? And don't you try to lie to me."

Anya gasped as she walked into the living room. Blood stained the couch and the coffee table, and she knew that it was the blood Connor had drank an hour and a half ago.

"What happened, Connor?" she demanded, picking up a paper towel and going to wipe Connor's bloody mouth with it. He shook her off.

"Don't try to change the subject," he growled at her. "What happened? I heard you talking to that _witch." _He said 'witch' like it was the mold that grew in the deepest parts of hell.

"The curse is killing me faster than we thought it was, isn't it?"

Anya flinched, but Connor remained stoic, as if none of this was affecting him. "Yes, it is," she said quietly, her paper towel fluttering to the ground. "Or, at least, Annie thinks so."

Connor sighed. "That's why I can't keep blood down, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"And what is the magical cure, Anya?" he asked, running his hand over his face as he began pacing the room. "What spells are you going to do this time?"

"None," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "There's nothing I can do, Connor. Mom's spell… it's stronger than we thought it was. She was a very powerful witch. Though. We both know that."

Connor frowned at her. "So, you're just going to let me _die?"_ Anya flinched again. "What about your promise, Anya? You promised you'd save me."

She sighed. "It's… it's complicated, Connor," she said finally, feeling utterly exhausted and defeated. "The only thing that can slow down the curse is something I just can't do."

Connor narrowed his eyes at her. "And what can't you do?" Anya was young, but she was a strong witch. She was a Lewis witch, after all. All the witches from that family were powerful witches.

"Dark magic," she replied, her voice small beneath her brother's stare.

Connor scoffed. "Really, Anya?" he said, looking at his little sister like she was the most childish, immature little girl he knew.

"It's not something to joke about, Connor!" Anya exclaimed. "You know what happened to Great Aunt Penelope-"

"I hate to break it to you, Anya," Connor said, cutting her off, "but Great Aunt Penelope wasn't even a witch, let alone a dark witch. She wasn't driven insane by any dark magic and she didn't murder herself and half the village. She was a human who died in a car crash twenty seven years before you were born. Everyone just made up that story to scare the younger ones into not digging into dark shit like that. Apparently, it worked."

"That's not the point, Connor," Anya said with a shake of her head. "Even if the story's a fake, that doesn't make the consequences any less real. We both know what happens to dark witches. And I can't go down that path. Not now, not ever."

"Why not?" Connor pushed, anger lighting up his blue eyes.

"Because it's unforgivable!" she shouted. "Because if I do this, if I use dark magic even once, I'll never be forgiven for it. And I just- I can't live with myself, knowing I went against the one thing I believe in- that dark magic is something you just don't do."

Connor sighed then, as Anya ran a hand over her face. "You know what else is unforgivable, Anya?" he said quietly, causing his sister to look up at him.

"What?" she asked warily.

"Letting your brother die even when you had the power to stop it."

Anya exhaled loudly. She couldn't do it. She couldn't abandon her morals and beliefs, especially when she found herself doing just that lately.

But Anya couldn't exactly abandon her brother either.

She closed her eyes. She had promised not only Connor but herself that she'd save him, no matter what she had to do. And even though she never imagined she'd be attempting dark magic, if it was the only thing that would save her brother from dying for good…

Anya took a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly against her sides. "Whatever it takes," she said, opening her eyes to look up at her brother.

Connor smirked down at her. "Whatever it takes," he replied.

He knew full well that he had just succeeded in getting his little sister to turn her back on the last of her morals, just to save his life.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **so I know a lot of you are wondering when Anya will finally stand up to Connor. It won't be coming for a while. But she'll start to get a life of her own the more her relationship with Connor- and Bonnie- develops. And that will lead to a fight with her brother.

Thank you to: Cassandra-Jayne, xxdarkvampireangelxx, SkullKey4758, Lovely Rain Dancer, NIGHTANGEL21, and mindyrainbowpants for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	6. Curious

**Chapter six**

_Curious_

Anya spent the rest of the night flipping through all the Grimoires she owned, looking for any spell that could slow Connor's curse, no matter how dark it was. She was thankful that she had shoved all the spell books that were in her house into bags before she ran away with her brother.

Connor had eventually fallen asleep on the couch next to her, dried blood still staining his face. With an exhausted sigh, Anya heaved the heavy spell book closed and tossed it carelessly onto the coffee table in front of her. That had to be the twentieth book she had gone through, and she hadn't even gone through half the books she owned.

Anya yawned and rubbed her eyes, she was exhausted. Still, she didn't want to fall asleep without looking through all the Grimoires. She didn't want Connor to think she wasn't trying to save him. She was. Anya was literally pouring her entire being into saving him. He had to know that.

She stood up and stretched. She decided she'd make some coffee before digging into the next pile of spell books waiting for her. When she walked into the kitchen and saw out the window that the sun was rising, she frowned. Had she really been up all night?

Anya checked the clock, learning that it was, indeed, five o'clock in the morning. She sighed again and ran a hand over her tired face. Her body begged her for sleep, but all her mind could think about was the fact that her brother was dying. How could she sleep when there was a curse killing him that very moment?

Her thoughts went back to the fact that she would be performing dark magic. The thought sent shivers down her spine. _Dark magic. _It sounded forbidden, yet there was a part of Anya, a small part, that was curious about dark magic. She was curious as to what she could do with it, how powerful she could be. But most of her was terrified at the thought of dark magic, of being a dark witch.

Anya shook her head slightly. She wouldn't become a dark witch. She'd perform one spell that would slow Connor's curse, and then she'd never touch dark magic again. That didn't make her a dark witch. It couldn't.

Anya managed to convince herself of this, and brought some peace to herself. It was a naïve thought, but it was enough to get her through the day. She ran a hand through her hair and yawned again. She started up the coffee maker, and sat down at the kitchen table. Then promptly fell asleep with her head resting on her arms.

"Anya, wake up!"

She groaned as she sat up, her neck aching and her bleary eyes looking up to see who the asshole who woke her up was.

"What?" she groaned, running a hand over her face. She hadn't slept well, and felt even more tired than she had before she went to sleep.

"Have you been sleeping this entire time?" Connor growled, glaring down at her. "Did you do any research at all last night?"

She sighed. "Relax, alright?" she mumbled. "I was working all night, Connor. I'm sorry if I fell asleep- my entire life doesn't revolve around you, after all."

The room suddenly went very still. "What did you just say?" Connor said, his voice low and dangerous.

Anya froze, suddenly very awake. She slowly looked up at her brother, eyes wide. She hadn't meant to say that. She was just so tired, she hadn't realized what she was saying. "I-I'm sorry, Connor," she said quickly. "I didn't mean it, I promise."

Connor grabbed her arm, his fingers tightening around her wrist painfully. She whimpered, eyes full of fear as she looked up at her brother. "I'm sorry, Connor, I'm sorry!" she repeated.

Connor looked at her, his lip curling in disgust, before her flung her hand away from him, causing Anya to fall to the floor. Her head smacked on the tile, and her vision dotted for a moment.

Anya bit her lip to keep from crying. Out of anger or fear or pain, she didn't know. All she remained on the floor, listening to her brother's heavy footsteps as he stormed out of the kitchen.

She sat up slowly, her wrist aching. It wasn't broken- she thought. Her head was pounding, and she was sure there was going to be a big bruise on her forehead where it connected with the floor. She stood up, knowing she had to get out of the house as soon as possible, before Connor did something worse than spraining her wrist and pushing her to the floor.

She grabbed her purse and the first Grimoire her hands touched from the living room, before she snuck out of the house. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she was more scared of her brother than she had ever been.

It was the first time Anya ever dared think about whether or not Connor was worth it. If her brother was worth turning her back on her family, morals, and beliefs. If he was worth turning to dark magic, turning into a dark witch. He was her brother and she loved him, but was he really worth it if he kept hurting her?

Anya found herself at the Mystic Grill. She got weird looks, knowing that her hair was messy, her clothes wrinkled, her face full of fear and exhaustion. Hell, there might have been blood on her shirt. She didn't know, and she really didn't care.

She sat down at a booth and sighed, rubbing her eyes. Of _course _Connor was worth it. He was her brother, her blood. She was all he had left. And of course he wasn't going to be in the best mood. He had a curse that was slowly but painfully killing him. She'd be bitchy too.

That's how Anya justified Connor's actions. Because she didn't want to think her big brother to be a heartless monster, who would whore her out to original vampires, have her practice black magic, and hurt her physically and emotionally, all just to save himself.

Yet, that's exactly what Connor Lewis was, and what he was turning into.

Still, she flipped through the old, heavy Grimoire and looked for a spell, any spell that might help Connor. When Anya paused and frowned at the leather bound cover, she realized with an unpleasant jolt that this had been her mother's Grimoire.

Even though she knew she would never find anything that would help Connor in the book, she kept turning pages. A heavy feeling of grief overwhelmed her at that moment, as she studied her mother's familiar handwriting on the yellowing pages. It was one of the rare moments she allowed herself to miss her mom.

As she turned passed spell after spell, Anya stopped flipping when she came across a passage that wasn't a spell. It was newly written too, she could tell. The ink was dark and bold against the paper, it had yet to fade like the rest of the words in the old book.

_My dearest Anya, _it read, _what have you done?_

The air left Anya. She reread the sentence over and over again, to make sure she hadn't misread it. But the words remained the same. _My dearest Anya, what have you done?_

It was with a sinking stomach and great reluctance that she kept reading the letter.

_You and your brother have always had a close bond, I know. And I know that you have never saw vampires for what they are- demons, monsters. But this needs to stop _now _Anya. You need to let the curse take your brother's life like it was meant to. You need to stop looking for the stone, you need to stay away from original vampires, and you need to not go anywhere near dark magic. _

_This isn't a joke, Anya. You do not know what messes you're getting yourself into. Don't let your brother's bad decisions be the end of you, sweetheart. I hope you realize that the spirits won't let this happen. They won't let you save your brother. I should know; I'm one of them now._

Anya dropped the Grimoire on the table with a loud thud. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest. She stared at the last sentence of the note, eyes wide and unblinking.

_I should know; I'm one of them now._

How was that even possible?

"Well, well, well, Little Witch. We meet again."

Anya closed her eyes, praying that this wasn't happening, not now. Not when her dead mother was speaking to her from beyond the grave. But when Anya peeked out of one eye, Kol was sitting across the booth, smirking at her.

"Don't you look like you've just seen a ghost," he said, as Anya took a deep breath and closed the Grimoire. He could hear her heart. It was pounding in her chest. She was nervous around him, and Kol couldn't help but take pleasure in that.

He also noted that Anya looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Messy hair, wrinkled clothes, tired eyes. He had to admit, she pulled off the look rather well. She looked quite attractive. He couldn't help but imagine what the witch looked like with fewer clothes on.

She wasn't in the mood to deal with Kol, especially when she was still shaken from her mother's letter. And even though Connor would break her arm if she wasted valuable time at getting to the Astrum Stone, she still pulled her mother's Grimoire to her chest and made to leave the booth.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" she muttered, suddenly feeling more exhausted than ever at that moment.

Kol grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving. "Now where's the fun in that?" he countered, smirking back at her.

Anya flinched, not from Kol touching her, but because of the wrist he grabbed. It was the same one Connor had sprained an hour ago, one that was slowly bruising.

Kol frowned at her but didn't pull his hand away. She was turning out to not be nearly as entertaining as he hoped she would be when he spotted her in the Grill. A shame for her, really. Because people who bored Kol ended up entertaining him in other ways that always involved their deaths.

Anya pulled her arm out of his reach, but didn't storm away from the booth. In fact, she settled back into the booth, placing the old spell book back on the table. Her back straightened and she pushed her light brown hair out of her face before looking back at Kol. He didn't know if the little witch was either full of courage or stupidity. It didn't really matter though; his interest in her was piqued no matter which one it was.

"What do you want?" she asked boldly, crossing her arms over her chest. It might have been from her lack of sleep, but Anya decided then and there that no one else would be walking all over her that day. With her brother's violent actions and her mother's accusing letter, Anya was done with being bullied. And she wouldn't let Kol think that he had the upper hand on her.

"Nothing really," Kol said, leaning back with that smirk that refused to leave glued to his lips. Anya didn't know if she found it sexy or irritating. There was a good chance she found it both. "Just hoping you'd provide some entertainment. I hate to inform you, Darling, but you're not that fun today."

Anya frowned, and glared at him. Kol found her even more amusing when she glared. She looked too sweet, too nice, and too innocent to be able to pull off a glare. He had met kittens more intimidating then the little witch sitting across from him. He hadn't been who he was, he might even have thought she looked adorable. But he was, indeed, Kol Mikaelson, and 'adorable' wasn't in his vocabulary.

"I'm sorry if I bore you," she muttered. "It's not like I'm not exhausted or anything," she added sarcastically.

"I'll take your apology into consideration, Little Witch," he said, smirking easily, as if he hadn't heard the second part.

Anya gritted her teeth angrily. But the angrier she got, the more amusing Kol found her. It was as if he fed off of her frustration, her irritation. "Why don't you just go bother someone else?" she muttered. She should have been glad, that Kol found her interesting enough to bother her. It meant her seduction plan was working so far. But all Anya wanted at that moment was for him to go away.

Kol raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you want to play this game, then? Sounds fun." He sat up straight and smirked at her. "Go ahead, Love. Pick a person and I'll go have a midmorning snack."

Anya's face fell and her eyes widened. She hadn't meant it like that, but Kol knew exactly how she meant it. He was just messing with her, testing her. He was going to get his entertainment one way or another.

"How about the bus boy my sister's infatuated with," Kol said, his nose wrinkling as he looked at Matt. Anya recognized him with an unpleasant pang as the friendly local boy from yesterday. "Or the bartender? She's rather sexy, I'd say. Or what about her," he added, looking at a girl who walked past their booth. "She looks delicious."

"You don't need to kill anybody," Anya muttered, eyes downcast.

"You're right, Little Witch," Kol said, turning back to face her. "But I _want _to."

Anya looked up at him, a fierceness in her eyes that he hadn't ever seen before. "Do you just wake up every morning and decide to be an arrogant, obnoxious monster?" she snapped. "Or does it just come naturally to you?"

It wasn't that Kol was taken aback by Anya's outburst, it was more like he didn't expect it. At that moment, he realized that the little witch wasn't as innocent or sweet or good as he had thought her to be. She wasn't by any means a threat to him- he was an original vampire, after all- but there was a fire inside the witch, a fire he found absolutely curious.

"Kol," a sharp, annoyed, feminine voice said, bringing Kol's rather intense gaze away from Anya, for which she was grateful. "You have ten seconds or else I'm going to leave you here stranded."

Kol sighed, annoyed. "My trollop of a sister calls," he explained to Anya, before standing up. Then he smirked back down at her. "Until next time, Anya," he said, kissing her hand again, almost mockingly. Anya didn't say anything to him. She found the entire conversation with the vampire unnerving.

"_Kol!"_

"I'm coming, Rebekah," he snapped, glaring daggers over his shoulder at a pretty blonde girl Anya assumed was his 'trollop of a sister'. Which meant she was an original vampire as well. Anya felt even more nervous, knowing there were two dangerous creatures in the bar with her.

He threw one last smirk at Anya before strolling away to Rebekah. She looked curiously at Anya, who quickly hid her face behind her hair.

"Who was that anyway?" Rebekah asked her brother as they walked out of the bar.

"Mind your own, Sister," Kol replied easily. Then they were gone.

Anya took a deep breath to calm herself down. The day had already been very busy and it wasn't even noon yet.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Laurafxox, .Uchiha, Reader1982, julieakaweirdo, Lauren1996007, SkullKey4758, Lovely Rain Dancer, mindyrainbowpants, and Nightwing's Gal for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	7. Dark Side

**Chapter seven**

_Dark side_

It was with great trepidation that Anya returned home, clutching the Grimoire to her chest as she did. She kept thinking about the note from her mother, that was still in the spell book, while her heart continued to beat wildly in her chest from her run in with Kol.

Her mother had told her to stop everything she was doing. She had to stop looking for the stone and distance herself from Kol. She needed to not get involved with dark magic, and stay the good little witch she was.

But above all, she needed to let her brother die.

Anya shook her head, just thinking about it. No, she wouldn't let Connor die, no matter what her mother thought. She wouldn't heed any of her warnings, because, if she did, that would mean her brother's death. And that just wasn't an option.

But then she thought about this morning. Connor had pushed her to the ground because she stuck up for herself. He was getting more and more violent as the days passed, and was taking all his anger out on her. And that just wasn't acceptable.

If there was one positive outcome that came from her brief conversation with Kol, it was that the fire inside of Anya that had been snuffed out since Connor had been cursed was relit. And that fire made her refuse to be treated like trash.

And Connor had to know that.

Anya walked into their house, taking a deep breath. She placed the Grimoire on the kitchen table, before she called out to her brother. "Connor? You there?"

She heard a sigh come from the living room, before heavy footfalls came towards the kitchen. Connor crossed his arms over his chest as he approached his little sister.

"What do you want?" he asked her, clearly still bitter over that morning. Anya gritted her teeth in anger.

"I want you to know that I still plan on making sure this curse doesn't kill you," Anya said slowly, and he rolled his eyes at her like it was obvious.

"On one condition."

This caught Connor by surprise. "What?" he asked, eyes widening slightly.

"I'm going to help you on one condition, Connor," Anya repeated, raising an eyebrow at him.

His face flushed in anger, but Anya decided that she wouldn't let him scare her into submission anymore. "If you want my help, you need to apologize to me," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

He snorted. "For what?"

Anya gritted her teeth. How _dare _he?

"For treating me like complete shit ever since you've been cursed," she snarled, eyes darkening. "For bruising me." she yanked her sleeve up roughly to reveal bruises in varying stages of healing. "All when I've only tried to help you."

Connor pursed his lips but didn't respond. She glared at him. "I swear to God, Connor, if you don't apologize to me, I will walk out that door and I'll never come back."

He sighed heavily, clearly frustrated with her. "Why is this so important to you, Anya? Why are you making me do this now?" he asked her.

"Because if I'm going to do this, if I'm going to use black magic for you, I _need _to know that I'm doing it for someone who appreciates me," she said quietly. "So please, just say you're sorry, Connor. Or I'm leaving and you can find some other witch to break the curse."

He sighed again. "Alright, alright," he muttered. "I'm… sorry."

It wasn't the best apology in the world, and Anya doubted that he really meant it. But she knew she couldn't walk out on him, no matter what he said. So, at that moment, his two word apology was enough.

"Alright then," she said with a nod. "Let's go break your curse."

_**~LIP~**_

Anya was curled up on the couch, her great aunt's Grimoire in her lap. Connor was sleeping- the curse had made him much more tired, draining him of energy quicker than before. They hadn't spoken since Connor's half assed apology, and Anya had spent the rest of the day searching for any spell that would slow down Connor's curse.

Lucky for her, Great Aunt Ida was completely insane.

Black magic covered the Grimoire's pages, curses and necromancy spells coming at Anya every time she turned a page. She didn't remember much of Aunt Ida, only that she had been crazy, driven mad by the same kind of magic Anya planned to use.

It was near the back of the book where Anya found the answer to her problems.

Written in thick black ink were the words '_Soothing The Undead.' _She frowned as she glanced over the words that were written in Latin. She was, by no means, fluent in the dead language, but she knew enough to know that the spell was promising.

What the spell did was make a human's blood immune to the curse, and when the vampire drank the blood, it would slow down the curse every time. It wouldn't cure Connor, but it seemed like the answers to their prayers.

The only problem Anya could foresee was the effects the spell would have on the human's blood- _her _blood.

Still, if it meant Connor would be able to drink blood again, that it would start to heal him, how could she just ignore the spell with unknown side effects? She knew she had no other option.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Anya laid the spell book on the coffee table and made her way to Connor's bedroom. He was snoring loudly as she pushed the door open. "Connor?" she called softly. "Wake up."

Her brother groaned softly, but kept sleeping. She sighed and walked up to his bed. "Connor, you have to wake up," she said louder this time.

Connor growled and opened one eye. "What do you want, Anya?" he mumbled angrily.

"I found a spell, Connor," she told him, a small smile creeping to her lips despite herself. "It's going to slow down your curse. It's going to save your life."

_**~LIP~**_

"Do you know what you're doing, Anya?" Connor muttered as the two stood in a circle of candles. Anya had always drawn extra energy from the elements, and she knew she was going to need as much power as she could get to perform the spell.

"Yes, Connor," she said patiently, going over the spell one last time before taking a deep breath.

Once she did this, she would be crossing a huge line and entering a world of dark magic. And she was doing it all for her big brother.

Anya picked up a kitchen knife off of the coffee table and held it in her shaking hand. She closed her eyes and tried her best to calm down. When her hand stopped shaking, she wrapped her right hand around the blade, pressing her palm against it, then she quickly pulled the knife out of her hand.

She gasped in pain as the knife cut into her skin, blood already dripping down her hand. She watched Connor's veins darken under his eyes, as he tried to control his blood lust. She didn't bother looking at him, and instead focused on the spell.

"_Cum magica maioribus, ut spiritus curarent sanguinem in venis a maledictiones praeterita et praesentia,"_ she recited, feeling the magic rush through her veins almost instantly.

With a gasp of an unexpected burst of power, Anya placed her hand over her bleeding palm and closed her eyes. Around them, the flames of the candles suddenly burned bigger and brighter, bursting up in the air.

"_Ut sanguine tuo sanare maledictus et curare inmortui__," _she continued, eyebrows furrowing at the amount of magic it took to perform the spell. She could feel blood dripping from her nose.

Connor watched his little sister, entranced by the show she was putting on. He had a hard time controlling his thirst, to stop himself from ripping into her throat. But he knew that if he dared interrupt her spell, he'd be as good as dead.

"_Ut meum sanguinem esse purum magicis benedixit intra me a spiritibus veneficas transivimus," _She chanted in a low voice. Her blood was getting warm in her veins, almost unbearably hot. She could practically feel the magic mixing with the thick crimson liquid, and it was a terrifying yet thrilling experience.

Anya took a deep breath, knowing that the last part of the spell would be the hardest on her. _"Salvatorem meum sanguinem in me male damnati. Et spiritus invoco, ut tam obscura," _she said loudly, opening her eyes.

Anya gasped loudly in pain, her blood suddenly burning hot. She tried not to scream out in pain, and looked down at her bleeding palm. She watched with wide eyes, transfixed, as the crimson blood turned ink black for one second, as the dark spell overtook her blood.

Connor's eyes widened as he watched the veins in his sister- especially in her arms and face- turn black with the blood and the spell running through them. Then Anya's normally green eyes turned completely black.

"_What the hell," _he cursed, alarmed by what was happening to her.

But then Connor blinked and Anya was completely back to normal.

Anya was breathing heavily as the flames of the candles returned to their normal size, and continued to flicker in the darkness. The blood in her veins that had been boiling seconds before had cooled down considerably. But Anya could swear her skin had blistered from the heat.

She looked down at her bloody palm. Her blood didn't look any different, it didn't feel any different. And for a split second, Anya was worried that the spell failed. Connor would never forgive her if she failed.

She pushed her sweaty hair out of her face and looked up at her brother. "Well then," she said. "Should we test to see if the spell worked?"

She raised her wrist to him. Connor didn't protest, he just grabbed his sister's arm roughly, before sinking his fangs into her skin.

She let out a gasp of pain, but bit her lip to stop from making any other sound. Connor swallowed a few gulps of blood before pulling away and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

He frowned, suddenly feeling a lot more energized. "I feel… better," he said slowly, Anya's blood still staining the corner of his mouth.

And when Connor kept her blood down, and, in fact, asked for more, Anya knew the spell had worked.

_**~LIP~**_

Anya was completely exhausted after performing the spell. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep until she was old enough to drink legally.

She let out a sigh as she trudged up the stairs. So far, during the past two hours, Anya hadn't experienced any negative side effects of the spell. But she knew it was too soon to tell. She couldn't help but hope that there wouldn't be any negative effects, though.

As she walked into her bedroom, Anya walked to her closet to pick out her pajamas. Her palm was all wrapped up and had stopped bleeding hours ago. She let out a yawn, knowing she was going to fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

"Anya Samantha Lewis. What have you done?"

Anya stiffened, eyes widening at the voice. She was sure she had imagined it. There was no way she had heard that voice. She was sure she would never be able to hear it again.

But when Anya slowly turned around, she was there. Laura Lewis, arms crossed, staring hard at her daughter.

The same Laura Lewis who was supposed to be dead.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: purpleXorchid, mindyrainbowpants, SkullKey4758, and UrieNanashi for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	8. Shame

**Chapter eight**

_Shame_

Anya had always been close to her mother, attached to her. She was the only parent she had ever really known, because her father- Nathan Lewis- had died of a heart attack when she was two years old. He had been human, like Connor. She didn't remember much of him, only that he smelled like oil and rubber- he had been a mechanic- and had the brightest smile. She had been told more than once that she had her father's smile.

It was because that Anya had never really known what having a father felt like- not the way Connor did, at least- that she became so attached to her mother. It was also the reason that, being the only male figure in her life, she stuck to Connor like glue.

But looking at her mother now- the last image of her having been her dead body on the front lawn- Anya didn't feel relief or joy or any form of happiness.

All she felt was shame.

Laura had drilled into her head the two sins a witch could succumb to. One was choosing an abomination of nature over a fellow witch. The other was performing dark magic.

Anya had done both. And she was ashamed of herself because of it.

"Look at me," Laura hissed at her only daughter, and Anya bit her lip before slowly meeting her mother's blue eyes. "How _dare _you?"

Anya shook her head. She had to be imagining this. It had to be a nightmare. Laura was dead and Anya couldn't be seeing her mother's ghost. Maybe black magic had driven her insane faster than expected.

"You're not real," Anya muttered, more to herself than to her mother. "You can't be."

"Witches can see the spirits of other witches, Anya," Laura told her daughter in a cold voice. "How else would the other side get things done?"

Anya just shook her head again. "No," she repeated, more firmly this time. "You're _dead."_

"Yes, and you did nothing to stop it, you ungrateful _brat."_

Anya flinched at the cruel words, and Laura sighed, but didn't take them back. "What have you done, Anya?" she whispered again, this time in a much softer tone. "Do you realize the sins you have committed? Do you?"

"He's my brother, mom," Anya whispered. "He's my brother, and I love him. No matter what he's done, he'll always be my big brother. I can't let him die."

"Yes, you can, Anya," Laura said adamantly. "You can and you will, because you're supposed to. You have to let Connor go."

"No," she said, more vehemently than she planned to. "I can't, mom. I can't let my brother die. I can't."

"You can when he's going to kill hundreds, Anya," she snapped. "How many lives will have to end? How many innocent people must die for you to learn that you can't save your brother from this?"

Anya pursed her lips but didn't answer. She didn't want anybody to die. She was a witch, after all. She wanted to preserve humanity. But she also wanted to save her big brother.

"He killed me, Anya," Laura said bluntly, taking a step towards her daughter. "He killed _your mother, _but you still help him? I did this for a reason, Anya. And you _need _to stay out of this."

"You cursed him too, mom," Anya said quietly, shifting her gaze to the floor. "I don't understand how a mother could hate her son enough to sentence him to this. You're not just killing him, mom. You're _torturing _him."

Laura frowned. "I never meant to do that, Anya. Believe me," she said. "The curse was meant to kill him instantly, not draw his death out like this. I didn't mean for this to happen. If I knew it would, I would have found a different mean to an end."

Anya shook her head. Laura still didn't get it. Her and Connor had fought constantly, ever since he turned fourteen. They bickered over small things, and screamed over big things. Doors were almost always being slammed and objects were always being broken. Anya had never known what caused the fighting, only that it was the same time Connor became fascinated by vampires.

Still, even with all the fighting, how could a mother _murder_ her child?

"How could you do it, mom?" Anya looked directly at Laura then. "Even if you didn't mean for the curse to turn out this way, how could you cast it? He's your _son, _mom. And you're trying to kill him. What mother could do that to her child?"

Laura exhaled sharply and shook her head. "You don't understand, Anya. I love Connor very much- I always will- but there are some things-"

"Would you kill me?" Anya interjected, staring hard at her mother.

"What?" Laura frowned and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"If I decided to become a vampire, would you kill me? Even if I hadn't killed anybody yet, would you?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Laura stared at her daughter, as if trying to read her mind. Anya's face gave nothing as to why she was asking this, though.

"Yes," Laura answered finally. "I would. Just as I would kill Molly or your grandparents or anyone in our family who turned into an abomination."

Anya felt as if her mother had punched her in the stomach. She didn't understand how her mother could say that so confidently. She would kill her own _family. _How could someone do such a terrible thing to loved ones? No matter what they were?

"Then I think I'm done with this conversation," Anya said coldly, before turning her back on her mother and walking towards the door. She'd look up some spell to keep away spirits in the morning, after she had some sleep.

Before she could leave her bedroom, the door closed with a firm click. She sighed and ran a hand over her tired face before turning to face Laura Lewis again.

"You can't leave, Anya," Laura told her grimly. "Not until I told you everything you need to hear."

"I told you, _Laura," _she said bitterly. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

It was at that moment that Anya decided Laura lost the right to be called "mom". What mother could kill her children, vampire or not?

"But you _need to," _she replied. "Anya, you're too young to understand just what you're getting into. The spirits want this to happen. If they become angry with you-" Laura cut herself off before she could go into the details.

Anya scoffed. "I don't give a damn about some dead witches," she replied haughtily. If there was one good thing Connor had taught her- at least kind of good- it was the ability to seem like the words her enemy said had no effect on her, so that they wouldn't think they had the advantage over her.

Laura's eyes widened, as if her daughter had just uttered blasphemy. "Don't speak that way, Anya," she warned in a low voice.

She rolled her eyes. "They're just witches," she said. "Dead ones at that. They're not gods."

"They might as well be," Laura snapped. "Because they can- and will- take your powers away faster than you can say 'sorry'."

Anya stiffened at that. How would Connor react if she lost her powers? She shuddered at the thought. He would have no more use for her, and he would surely die.

Laura sighed again. "Anya, you don't understand, sweetheart," she tried again in a soft voice. "Connor is my son. I gave birth to him, raised him. I will always love him, honey. But if I let him live, especially after the shame and disgrace he brought to our family, what kind of witch would I be?"

"A bad one," Anya replied. "But you would be a good mother."

Laura closed her eyes and Anya thought she was going to leave, when she said, "You need to stay away from black magic, Anya. You want me to be a good mother? Then listen to my advice when I tell you this is not something you can come back from."

Anya closed her eyes. "I did what I had to, Laura," she replied. "I was being loyal to the only real family I have left."

Laura flinched at her daughter's harsh words. "Anya," she replied in a low voice. "_Listen to me. _I want to help you, protect you. But nothing can save you from the consequences if you keep doing this. _Dark magic will ruin any light left in you, you foolish little girl."_

Anya inhaled, as if her mother had physically harmed her. "And you keep away from the originals, Anya," Laura added. "Especially Kol. That man- that monster, really- does not have good history with the Lewis witches."

Anya frowned and looked up when her mother mentioned Kol. What history did he have with her family? The Lewis Clan was notorious for loathing vampires. What kind of past would one of the first have with them?

But when Anya looked up, Laura was gone. The only thing she left behind were her sharp words that made Anya question just how true they were.

_**~LIP~**_

No matter how hard she tried, Anya got very little sleep that night. She dreamt of Connor slaughtering town after town of innocent humans. She saw his face, contorted in hunger, with red eyes and protruding veins. She saw his teeth, lengthened into fangs, with vivid red blood coating them.

"_This is what I am now, Anya," _he told her, smirking beneath the blood on his lips. _"This is the monster you saved."_

And just when he lunged for her throat, she woke up screaming.

That morning, Anya trudged down to the kitchen still in her pajamas. Connor was sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hand. He smiled when he saw her, and Anya was a little surprised by how _alive _he looked. Her blood had had an amazing effect on him.

"Morning, Sis," he said, in the best mood he had been in since he had been cursed. He handed her a mug of hot coffee. Two creams, two sugars, the way she liked it.

Anya nodded at him, but was still so tired and shaken up from last night. Her mother's words kept replaying in her head. _"Dark magic will ruin any light left in you, you foolish little girl."_

"I heard you talking to someone last night," Connor said suddenly, frowning at her. "Was someone over?"

She sighed. Anya hadn't been planning on telling Connor about Laura visiting her. His reaction would be violent and terrifying, no doubt about it.

"Don't worry about it, Connor," she told him, sitting down and taking a long sip of her coffee.

He grabbed her wrist, but not nearly as roughly as before. "What aren't you telling me, Anya?" he asked with a frown.

"Mom visited me last night," she admitted slowly, eyes downcast. "As a ghost, I mean."

Connor's grip on her wrist tightened, but not painfully. "What did she say?"

Anya sighed. "She- I mean, she said- I don't we should do anymore dark magic, Connor. She put up a good argument against it."

Connor narrowed his eyes. "You're siding with her?" he growled. "Do you even know what she's done?"

Anya's green eyes widened. "What are you talking about, Connor?"

"What, you think I hate that bitch for nothing?" he scoffed. "Do you even know how dad died?"

All the air left Anya then. "What about dad?" she whispered, eyes wide in horror.

Connor frowned. "You _don't _know, do you? You think he died of a heart attack?"

"_What happened, Connor?" _she demanded.

"Okay, okay." He removed his hand and rolled his eyes. Then he suddenly got very serious. "He was turned into a vampire, Anya. One night when he was coming home from work. A vampire jumped him and turned him, to get back at mom and the family. And mom-" he cut himself off.

"What did she do?" Anya asked, even though she really didn't want to know the answer.

"Mom killed him, Anya." He sighed. "Mom killed dad."

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **What do you think of Laura? Who's worse, her or Connor? And who should Anya side with?

Thank you to: ThePhantomismyLove, CeruleanOctopus, purpleXorchid, mindyrainbowpants, ravenclawfairy, Kat Khaos, SkullKey4758, Lovely Rain Dancer, and for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	9. Numb

**Chapter Nine**

_Numb_

Molly had fallen asleep at her kitchen table again, her cheek pressed against the page of her Grimoire. She had spent most of the hours since Anya ran away with Connor trying to track her niece. Once she found Anya, she could lock her up until Connor finally died. Then she would be safe, like she promised Laura she would be.

But Anya was proving hard to track down. Who knew the number of precautions the two had taken, so that no one could find them. Laura had taught her children extremely well, and it was starting to become a pain in Molly's ass.

The obnoxious ring of Molly's phone broke her out of her thoughts. With a sigh, she answered it, expecting it to be the cousins she had enlisted to find Anya and Connor.

"Yeah?"

"_Molly."_

Her blue eyes widened in shock. She hadn't heard that voice in ages, it felt like. "Anya." She let out a sigh of relief. At least she was still alive. "Oh, honey, you don't know how glad-"

"_Don't get your hopes up," _Anya said darkly. _"I didn't call to turn myself in. I called for answers."_

Molly frowned. "Answers? For what?"

"_About the death of my dad."_

She stiffened. Was it possible Anya knew the truth? No, it couldn't be. "He died of a heart attack, Anya. You know that," she said, praying that her voice didn't give anything away.

"_He was healthy as a horse, Molly," _Anya said, sounding desperate for the truth. _"He only ate things that came out of the ground and he exercised every day. Try a different lie."_

"Heart problems ran on his side of the family," Molly said. "Now I'm not sure why you're asking, but your dad died of a heart attack. It's very tragic, but-"

"_My mom killed him, didn't she?"_

Molly exhaled loudly. "Now, why would you think that, Anya?" she asked, knowing that her voice went up an octave. "Your parents were madly in love with each other. Laura would never hurt your father. She'd never try to lose him-"

"_Stop lying, Molly!" _Anya snapped. _"I'm so sick of the lies! For once, just tell me the truth."_

Molly paused. She closed her eyes at let out a sigh. She heard Anya let out an impatient breath, and then she spoke again, if anything to keep her niece from hanging up. "There was no other option, Anya," she said in a low voice.

"_Tell me what happened, Molly," _she demanded.

"You already know, don't you?" Molly accused. "Connor told you."

"_I thought he might be lying," _Anya admitted.

"He wasn't." Molly sighed again. "Laura killed your father."

Anya went silent for a long time, so long Molly feared she hung up. But she spoke again. _"Because he was a vampire?"_

"Yes," she said. "Your mom- she couldn't have her husband be a monster. Not with two young children to raise and the entire family breathing down her neck about it. So she did what she had to do."

"_Did he kill anybody?" _Anya asked, almost hopefully, wanting to know anything that might justify her mother's actions.

"No," Molly admitted. "Not yet. But all vampires murder, Anya. They kill innocent humans in cold blood. He wasn't going to be an exception-"

"_She killed my dad," _Anya said slowly. _"Because she was _ashamed _her husband was a vampire."_

"No, Anya," Molly said quickly. "She killed him because-"

"_The Lewis' act like they're so high and mighty," _Anya said, her voice cold and hard. _"Like they're better than everyone else, especially vampires. But, you know what, Molly? They're worse."_

Then the line went dead, and Molly stared at her kitchen table with her jaw dropped slightly.

Getting Anya back just became an even harder task than before.

_**~LIP~**_

Anya had driven to a neighboring town forty five minutes away and used a payphone at a gas station with a sleazy old man who worked at the checkout and kept leering at her, all to learn from Molly what she already knew.

The Lewis' hated vampires so much, they'd kill one of their own.

It was five in the afternoon by the time she drove back to Mystic Falls. Anya felt hollow, still a little shocked by everything she had learned that day. She felt as if she was just going through the motions, not really feeling anything. She felt numb.

Her father had been a vampire. _A vampire. _That was why Connor became so obsessed with them. He wanted that connection with their dad. He wanted to be one too. Anya had left the house before he could tell her the exact details, but she imagined he must've tracked down the vampire that turned their father.

And that same vampire probably turned Connor.

Before Anya realized what she was doing, she was pulling Connor's truck into the parking lot of the Mystic Grill.

She needed a drink. She needed multiple drinks. She needed this numbness to go away. It was the same numbness that had been in her chest since she performed the spell on her blood. It had been slowly getting worse, and the news about her father didn't help at all.

Anya took a seat at the bar and ordered a beer, ignoring the look she got from the bartender. Still, he didn't card her and served her the beer.

She took a deep breath. She knew that Connor was expecting her home at any moment, and probably wanted a glass of her blood. But the thought of going home was very unappetizing to her. She didn't feel like being near any Lewis at that moment.

Who would kill their husband, the love of their life? All because they hated vampires? Who would kill their child? Who would kill their mother? Who would kill family?

Was it a Lewis thing? Or a witch thing in general? Was she doomed to commit acts of parricide like the rest of her family? She didn't want to kill anyone. Anya wasn't a killer.

"Anya, right?"

She looked up to see a familiar person. It was Bonnie, the witch she had met the first day she was in Mystic Falls. She nodded slowly.

"Bonnie," she said.

The witch nodded and sat down next to her. Anya took a sip of her beer and her nose wrinkled at the taste- she thought beer tasted disgusting. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" Anya said, turning back to Bonnie.

Bonnie frowned but nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"If a family member or somebody close to you was a vampire," she said slowly. "Would you kill them?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow as her frown deepened. "My mother is a vampire," she told Anya without looking at her. "And so is one of my best friends. And I would never kill them."

Anya closed her eyes. Maybe it was just a Lewis thing. Maybe her family did hate vampires enough to kill the ones that were related to them. Maybe it was a curse.

"Why'd you ask?" Bonnie said, causing Anya to look at her again.

"No reason," Anya muttered.

Bonnie raised both of her eyebrows, clearly knowing that Anya was lying. She didn't say anything about it, though. "I was thinking, Anya," she said. "I don't really know any other witches, besides some in my family. Do you want to hang out sometime? So we could talk about…" she trailed off awkwardly.

"Being witches?" Anya half smiled. "Yeah, that'd be fun. I'd like that."

"Bonnie!" a blonde girl around their age appeared then, causing Bonnie's attention to go to her. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, Caroline," Bonnie said, standing up. "I'm right behind you."

Caroline looked at Anya oddly before leaving. Bonnie smiled at her, before slowly following her friend. "I'll see you around, Anya."

"Yeah. Bye, Bonnie," she said, finishing her beer.

Anya felt buzzed, and she welcomed the feeling. It replaced the numbness for a short while. She sat at the bar for ten more minutes, not wanting to go home. She liked being alone at that moment. She wanted no other company except herself.

It didn't last long.

"And why do you seem so familiar?"

Anya looked up, her heart stopping when she saw Rebekah sitting down next to her. Anya wasn't prepared to encounter an original vampire. She was glad it wasn't Kol, though.

"I just have one of those faces," she muttered, going to leave, but Rebekah grabbed her arm in a painfully tight grip.

"Not so fast," she said, smirking slightly. Then her eyes widened when she figured it out. "Oh, I know. You're my brother's new source of entertainment. The one he refuses to tell me why he finds so much amusement in."

Anya exhaled, feeling Rebekah's nails dig into her skin. She wanted to go home now, mostly because home was safer than being in the company of an original.

"Would you tell me why?" Rebekah asked pleasantly, though there was an edge in her voice.

"I wouldn't know," she muttered. "But if you could get Kol to leave me alone, that'd be great."

Rebekah scoffed. "Please, the only one who controls what Kol does is Kol," she said a bit haughtily. Then the blonde looked down to the charm bracelet on Anya's wrist. She frowned the same way Kol did when he realized just what Anya was.

Rebekah let go of Anya as she studied the charm with the Lewis family sigil on it. "Now I know why he's messing with you," Rebekah declared, an amused look on her face. "You're a witch."

Anya shifted. "Took you long enough," she mumbled, causing Rebekah to narrow her eyes.

"A Lewis witch, no less," the original vampire continued. "Oh, Kol had so much fun with your ancestors. My entire family did, really."

She looked up, startled. "What?"

Rebekah smiled cryptically and stood up. "See you later, _Anya," _she purred, smirking, before leaving Anya to decode her message.

There was definitely history between the Lewis' and the Mikaelsons.

_**~LIP~**_

The one thing Kol hated about Mystic Falls was that there was nothing to _do. _He was bored, all the time. And eventually bugging his siblings lost his interest. He wished he knew where the Little Witch was. Maybe he could seduce her. It would be a challenge, definitely, and challenges were always amusing.

Just then Rebekah walked into the living room, causing Kol to smirk as his little sister paused in front of him. "I met the girl you've been harassing," she told him bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anya?"

Kol smirked. He had refused to tell Rebekah about Anya, just to drive her crazy. Rebekah hated not knowing things. "Yes," he said. "Isn't she just delicious?"

"A Lewis witch, Kol? Really?"

He frowned at Rebekah. She just had to ruin his fun. "Is there a problem with my taste in women, Rebekah?"

"No problem," she replied. "I just think you're becoming addicted to Lewis Witches, is all."

"It's not fault," Kol said, sitting up. "Lewis witches are just so… stubborn. It's so entertaining, trying to crack them."

"Even so," Rebekah said. "This one is different from your last one. What was her name? Margaret?"

He smirked at the mention of Margaret. She had been so fun. "Isn't she?" he said.

"She's hiding something," Rebekah told him brashly.

"I know," he replied easily. "But, unlike you, Bekah, I like a good mystery. Mysteries prove to be so fun to solve."

With one last smirk at Rebekah, Kol left the room. As soon as he did, he lost his smirk. Anya was keeping something hidden, he knew. He just didn't want Rebekah to know how much it bothered him.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **Kat Khaos, Anon, purpleXorchid, NIGHTANGEL21, Lovely Rain Dancer, SkullKey4758, and mindyrainbowpants for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	10. Drunk

**Chapter ten**

_Drunk_

"_Anya, where are you?"_

"_It's been four hours, Anya. Seriously, time to come home."_

"_I'm thirsty! I'm really, really thirsty!"_

"_Anya, for the love of God. Come. Home. Now."_

"_Anya Lewis, the next time I see you-"_

Anya hung up halfway through Connor's newest message. She should've left the Mystic Grill hours ago. She should've gone home, filled up a glass with her blood for Connor, and then curl up into bed and pretend she had a normal family.

Instead, she moved her pity party to a booth in the far back of the Grill and drank until everything was blurry, including her own mind.

"God, Connor, don't you ever shut up?" she mumbled, resting her head on the table. She was too drunk to even know how to get out of the booth without falling. She was tired, so tired, and considered just sleeping in the booth instead of trying to make it home.

If she called Connor for a ride home, she'd never hear the end of it. How immature she was, how self-pettiness wasn't attractive on anyone, but especially her. He'd call her weak and foolish and would make her feel even worse than she already felt.

It was just easier to sip her drink in the bar until the bartender made her leave.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my Little Witch."

Anya groaned. God really didn't have any pity for drunk teenagers.

"Oh, it's you. How great," Anya deadpanned, lifting her head to look up at Kol. He smirked down at her, resting his elbows on the table.

"Yes, I rather enjoy my own company as well," he replied, and Anya rolled her eyes. She didn't know if it was the alcohol in her system talking, but Kol seemed more arrogant than usual.

"Then you won't mind if I leave," Anya retorted, making to get out of the booth. Kol grabbed her wrist before she could stumble away from him.

"Why in such a rush, Little Witch?" he raised an eyebrow as Anya yanked her hand away from him.

"No rush," she replied with false sweetness. "I just prefer to spend my time with people who _aren't _arrogant original vampires."

Kol placed a hand over his still heart, fake hurt playing on his face. "Why are you so mean to me tonight, Little Witch?" he questioned.

Then Kol eyed the empty bottles that were on the table and noticed Anya's dazed features. He tutted, but smirked widely. "Drinking our problems away, aren't we, Anya?"

She shrugged, but wouldn't meet his gaze. Instead, she slumped back into the booth, accepting that Kol wouldn't let her leave until he was done with her. "Who says I have problems?" she muttered defensively. "Why can't I just get drunk for the sake of getting drunk?"

"I never said you couldn't," Kol replied, amused. "I'm all for ignoring problems with drink. It's what my family specializes in."

He grabbed Anya's beer bottle from her and took a sip, and Anya frowned at him. "Get your own booze," she muttered, grabbing the bottle back.

Kol made a face as he swallowed. "Gladly," he said. "You're getting drunk all wrong, Little Witch. It's much easier to wallow in drunkenness when you're not drinking cheap beer."

Anya rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to judge my preferences in alcohol right now, Kol," she snapped.

"Just enlightening you on your mistakes, Little Witch," he replied lightly, before signaling for a waiter to come over. "Two shots of tequila," he ordered. "Then bring over a bottle of bourbon for the table."

The waiter eyed Anya suspiciously. "Isn't she a little young to be drinking? Can I see some I.D? For both of you?"

"Now why would that be necessary?" Kol rolled his eyes, already leaning into the waiter, eyes dilating as he compelled him. "Forget about identification and hurry up with the alcohol before I change my mind and decide to drink you instead."

The waiter blinked, looking momentarily dazed by the compulsion. Then he walked away as if he had completely forgotten about his earlier suspicion of under aged drinking.

Anya frowned. "I really shouldn't be drinking anymore," she said slowly. "Not unless I want to get my stomach pumped tonight."

"Relax, Darling," Kol said with a roll of his eyes. "It's just one drink. It won't kill you."

"You might, though," she countered. Kol just smirked cryptically in response.

Anya knew though, that if her death did come at the hands of Kol, it wouldn't be tonight. He played games. He entertained himself with his prey before he killed them. And he wasn't done playing with her yet. There was still so much he didn't know about the Little Witch, so much that had him curious about her.

He wasn't done with her just yet.

The waiter brought over their drinks, and placed a shot in front of both Kol and Anya. He set the bottle of bourbon in the middle of the table before leaving them alone. "So, I heard that my sister bothered you earlier today," Kol said conversationally as he grabbed the salt shaker. "She is terribly boring, isn't she?"

Anya frowned and looked at the Lewis charm on her bracelet as Kol did his shot, biting into his lime at the end. "Both of you knew I was a witch the second you saw my charm bracelet," she murmured, looking up at him. "Why is that?"

Kol shrugged as he went to open his bottle of whiskey. He seemed determined to get just as drunk as Anya was in a matter of minutes, where it took her hours to get on the level she was.

"My brother Nik had witches around all the time at one point," he said vaguely. "To help break his curse. You learn what sigils represent which families when you spend enough time with them."

Her frown deepened. She remembered what her mother had told her about Kol._ "That man- that monster, really- does not have good history with the Lewis witches."_ He had history with her family. Maybe that was why he was so interested in her. Maybe that was why the Lewis family was known for loathing vampires. Because one time, centuries ago, Kol Mikaelson terrorized that generation of witches.

"You're lying," she said bluntly, and he looked up at her in surprise. "You know my family, at least you did at one point. But how?"

Kol laughed lightly. "My, you have no filter when you're drunk," he observed. "I'd say I like this Anya better than the sober one. Much more fun."

Anya glared at him. "Life isn't just some game, Kol," she fumed. "It's not all about having fun. And you don't get to base people's value on how 'entertaining' they are."

"You do if you're me." Kol became suddenly serious, and if Anya hadn't lost her common sense three bottles ago, she would've backed off. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, and it sent shivers down her spine, even when she was drunk. Still, she didn't let it go.

"Tell me how you know my family," she demanded, jaw set. Kol had to admit, even while her tenacity was annoying, there was something admirable about it. This little witch was challenging him, something she had no business doing.

He didn't know why, but Anya became even more attractive to him, with the stubbornness in her green eyes and her hair uncontrollably messy, than she had been their previous encounters combined.

Maybe he secretly had a thing for pushy women.

"Now, now, Little Witch," Kol said easily, taking a long sip from his drink. "You're really in no position to be demanding things from me. Especially when you're hiding something as well."

Anya paled. She had hoped that maybe he had forgotten their first meeting when he figured she wanted something from him. Clearly, that wasn't the case. "I'm not hiding anything," she lied.

Kol chuckled again, eyes lighting up with mirth. "You're a bad liar when you're sober, Love," he told her. "You're a terrible one when you're intoxicated."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why should I tell you what I'm hiding if you won't tell me?" she countered.

"Because I don't need to know what you're hiding," he replied. "You, on the other hand, are going through some sort of existential crisis right now with your family. I'm sure any tiny detail about them is important to you."

Anya frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Kol rolled his eyes. "Please, Little Witch," he said. "It's written all over your face. You're having a crisis because you finally put it together that mummy killed daddy."

Anya froze. She stared up at Kol in complete and total shock. By the look on his face, he clearly hadn't meant to reveal so much information at once. She replayed what he had just said in her mind over and over again, making sure it meant what she thought it meant. Kol knew that her father had been a vampire, and that her mother had killed him.

She was out of the booth and heading towards the bar doors before she even realized what she was doing.

Kol sighed, as if teenage witches were the most difficult creatures alive. "Where are you going, Anya?" he called, clearly annoyed.

Anya didn't answer, and she pushed past the doors and out into the night air. It was cool outside, and while the fresh air did help sober her up, she still was too drunk to drive. With a resigned sigh, Anya made her way towards the road. She'd have to walk home.

Kol joined her outside then. "Where are you going?" he repeated, frowning at her.

Anya turned around to face him but kept walking. "Home," she replied simply.

"Why so soon?" he asked, his frown deepening. He had been enjoying drunk Anya.

"Because I've had too much to drink," she answered. "Clearly I have, because I thought I heard you say that you knew my mom killed my dad."

"You did mishear anything, Little Witch," Kol assured her.

Anya just shook her head. If he knew that, what else did he know?

She wasn't paying attention to what was happening around her. She heard the sound of a car that seemed to be heading in her direction, but Anya didn't move out of its path. She saw the blinding headlights and heard the honking of a horn. She turned to face a minivan just as it was about to hit her-

Then Anya was in warm arms and her face was pressed against a chest. Kol had blurred over to her in time to pull her out of harm's way. He couldn't have his Little Witch being hit by any cars. Especially not when things were just getting interesting with her.

Anya blinked slowly as she looked up at him. Kol smirked down at the witch and didn't make to remove his arms from her. "You should really watch where you're going, Anya," he said casually.

She frowned at him and completely ignored what he had said. "Did you turn my father?" she said just above a whisper.

"No, Love," he said with a shake of his head. His fingers ran down her back, along her spine, and Anya had chills at the contact. But they weren't necessarily bad chills. "But I know who did."

Anya looked up at him surprise. "Who-"

But the warm arms around her were gone, in a flash. It was like Kol had never been there in the first place, and Anya was left alone, talking only to the wind.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **an entire chapter dedicated to Kol and Anya. Yay!

Thank you to: Lovely Rain Dancer, SkullKey4758, and mindyrainbowpants for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	11. Temptation

**Chapter Eleven**

_Temptation_

"Oh, God," Anya moaned, her head pounding as she rolled over. She coughed suddenly, as grass got into her mouth. She groaned and sat up, realizing she had passed out on the front lawn last night.

She hadn't even been sober enough to make it into the house.

Connor was going to murder her. He was going to rip her intestines out and strangle her with them. She hadn't told him where she was, she ignored him, she starved him for twenty four hours, and she was out all night. She was so dead.

Brushing the dirt and grass off of her clothes, Anya rubbed the back of her neck as she made her way to the door. She tried to turn the door knob, but it was locked. Of course.

She sighed and groped for her keys in her pocket, but they were missing. She then resorted to pounding on the door, which did nothing good for her hangover. "Connor, let me in!"

She was still pounding on the door when it opened suddenly, causing her to stumble forward. She grabbed onto the doorway at the last second, maintaining her balance. Anya looked up and met Connor's angry gaze. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for what was going to come next.

"_Where were you?" _He hissed, grabbing her wrist and throwing her into the house. Anya stumbled backward and her shoulder collided with the wall painfully.

She stifled a groan as she straightened quickly. "Out," she replied vaguely, her brother narrowing his eyes as she spoke.

He took a step towards her menacingly, and Anya flinched back against the wall. Anger and rage were practically radiating off of Connor, and she couldn't help but be scared.

Connor's nose wrinkled as he looked at her, disgust clear on his face. "Are you hungover?" he demanded to know, his hands curling into fists the closer he got to his sister.

She shook her head slowly, flinching at the pain in her head it caused. "Connor, I swear-"

She gasped as her brother's nails dug into her shoulders. "Don't _lie _to me!" he screamed at her, and Anya couldn't look away from him out of plain fear.

He pushed her backwards into the wall, her head smacking against the surface when she made contact. For a few seconds her vision blurred, and Anya slumped against the wall. She rubbed her head and righted herself as Connor went off again, angrily pacing the room to keep from striking her again.

"You were gone for fifteen hours," he said slowly, through gritted teeth. "Fifteen hours, I had to starve, all because you were feeling extra pathetic and decided to get wasted."

She took a deep, slow breath. "I'm sorry, Connor-" she said earnestly, pleading almost.

"If you were really sorry, Anya," he cut her off bitingly, glaring at her with enough heat to burn a hole in the wall behind her. "You would've had enough class to actually make it into the house, not pass out on the grass like a trashy party girl."

Anya tried her best not to flinch. "I just found out mom killed dad," she said in a low voice. "Cut me some slack, alright?"

This only made Connor angrier. _"Cut you some slack?" _He roared, and she shrank back away from him. "You're not the one dying, Anya! I am! And yet, I still have to take care of my stupid little sister because she's too immature to do it herself."

She couldn't look at him. His cruel words hurt more than his physical actions had. "I'm sorry," she repeated again, this time in a quiet whisper.

"It's gotten worse, while you were out pitying yourself," Connor snapped, but his glare softened as he thought about his situation. "The blood wears off pretty fast. The pain is back, and it feels like something is eating me from the inside out."

"I'll fix it," Anya said quickly, desperate to make him forgive her. "Here," she said, offering her wrist. "Maybe drinking it right from the source makes a difference."

Connor eyed her peace offering, and she saw the hunger in her brother's eyes for a second before he blurred over to her and sunk his fangs into her skin.

Anya bit the inside of her cheek to keep from making any sounds of pain. It would only anger Connor even more. She stood there and let her brother feed from her without making a sound. It was only when she started to feel light headed did she tug her arm gently away from him.

"That's enough, Connor," she said softly. He ignored her at first, but when she tugged again, harder this time, he pulled away from her and put distance between them, as if she disgusted him.

Her blood covered his mouth and lips, and it was a little unnerving to see her own blood on her brother's face. "Feeling better?" she asked kindly, shoulders tense as she watched Connor carefully.

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at his little sister. "Grow up, Anya," he told her in a low tone. "Because I can't take care of you anymore."

Anya closed her eyes as Connor stormed away. With each passing day, he was more and more cruel to her, calling her insulting and hurtful things.

And with each passing day, she believed him even more than she had before.

_**~LIP~**_

Later that afternoon, Anya was in her bedroom nursing her third cup of coffee. The caffeine made her feel better. She was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with a Grimoire resting on her stomach. She was supposed to be looking for a spell that might make the effects of her blood last longer, but Anya's mind was still reeling from everything.

She had been looking for a spell in hopes it might make Connor forgive her faster, but she couldn't focus. She was trying to distract herself from the fact that her family history was twisted and dark and murderous. Not to forget that Kol somehow tied in with all of it. It made her head pound uncomfortably, but that might've been her hangover.

It didn't matter anyway. She knew the only answers she could find would be in the one Grimoire she promised herself to never open ever again.

One time. She would use dark magic one time and never do it again. But dark magic wasn't just something you did on the side. You didn't just do it every now and then. You threw yourself into dark magic, you let it envelope you. You let it take you for everything you have because it was that _addicting. _

Anya had never heard of a witch who had only dabbled in dark magic every now and then. She was sure one didn't exist. No one had that much self-control to say no to it after letting it in. Anya thought she'd been different, though. She convinced herself she would be.

She had hidden the Grimoire under a floorboard, as if it would make the temptation to ever use it again go away if she didn't see it. With the family drama taking up most of her time, thoughts, and energy, she hadn't had much time to think about what had changed inside of her when she cast that spell. Now, though, the silence in the room only made the temptation worse.

It was like the dark magic was in her blood. She could almost feel it urging her to give in, to allow herself the power and the protection and self-destruction that came with that type of magic. It was as if the magic was tangible, an actual living thing. It was as if it was in the room with her, pulling her closer to the book that was just three feet below her.

She could almost hear it calling her. _Anya, give in, Anya. You're not that strong. You can't resist. You'll give in. Eventually. You always do._

Anya's eyes opened and she took a deep breath. Just one time. She'd use it one time and then never again.

But she felt _good, _using dark magic. She felt in control, a feeling she desperately needed, given the circumstances.

Would it really hurt, doing it just one more time? To see if there was anything that could help Connor? She wouldn't even have to cast another spell. It couldn't hurt, just looking, just one more time.

"No," Anya exclaimed, blinking wildly as she gripped her hands in fists.

It was like she was at war with herself, like the magic had taken up half of her, and she had to fight it to gain control again.

If anything, it was more proof that she shouldn't go anywhere near dark magic again.

Anya rolled off of her bed then, and made a beeline for the door. If she put distance between her and the Grimoire, then maybe the temptation would go away. She'd reclaim her strength if she gave herself the time to.

But distance only made the heart grow fonder.

_**~LIP~**_

"Connor, you can't stay mad at me forever."

She frowned at her brother as he blatantly ignored her. Anya sighed and watched her brother reread research he had already read a thousand times. She was stretched out on the couch, trying her best to clear her mind from thoughts of black magic.

"I said I'm sorry," she continued. "What more do you want from me?"

Connor didn't respond, and Anya groaned ran a hand over her face. "Please, Connor, can we just move on from this?" she pleaded.

"No," he answered in a gruff voice. "Because I don't forgive you, Anya. Now, will you go do actual work and leave me alone?"

Anya bit her lip. Connor had always held grudges for the longest time, and his curse had made him that much more irritable. He'd only forgive her on his own time. He was too stubborn to do anything else.

She almost told him about her inner struggle against dark magic. Almost. But she knew, deep in her heart, Connor would urge her to give in. He'd tell her that curing him would be easier if they were using all their resources. He'd want her to become a dark witch. And she knew, if he pushed her hard enough, she'd give in eventually.

So, instead of saying anything, Anya stood up and made her way back to her room. She paused when she reached the hallway. There was something she had to tell him, though. About their parents.

"Kol knew," she stated bluntly, without looking at him.

Connor looked up at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"He knew that our father was a vampire, that mom killed him," she explained.

"Did… he turn him?" Connor asked in a low voice, indicating that, contrary to Anya's prior belief, he had no idea who turned their dad.

She shook her head. "No, he said he didn't. And I believe him. Kol wouldn't lie to me about something like that. He'd gloat about it, rub it in my face." Anya sighed again. "That's not all, though."

Connor raised an eyebrow, his attention still on his little sister. "What else is there?"

"He knows who did," she said. "And, I think, I can get him to tell me who did, eventually." It was a lot of pressure to put on herself, but maybe if she got him drunk enough, the words would just start falling out of his mouth. "That is, if you want to know, I mean."

Connor nodded slowly. "Do it," he said simply, already turning his back on her.

But Anya wasn't done. "They… the originals, I mean, they have history with our family, Connor," she said slowly, a little afraid of his reaction. "Both Kol and his sister Rebekah knew that I wasn't only a witch but a Lewis witch just by the family sigil on my charm bracelet."

In a blink of an eye, Connor was standing a few inches in front of her, an angry look on his face. "They know you're a witch?" he said in a dangerously low voice. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

She shook her head slowly. "I didn't- I just sort of forgot-" she stuttered out.

"Here's a suggestion, Anya," he snapped, grabbing her wrist that had the bracelet on it in a painfully tight grip. "If people keep figuring out your identity just by a stupid bracelet- _take it off."_

He ripped it off of her wrist and threw it across the room. She heard the charms jingle as they hit the wall. She watched it happen with a sad expression. Connor let go off her wrist and stalked back to the table he was working at.

"Thanks Anya," he said sarcastically without looking at her. "For making this a lot more complicated. Really."

Without saying anything, Anya retreated back to her room, her wrist still aching.

Only one thing would make Connor stop yelling at her, hurting her, treating her like she was a dumb child.

If she gave into dark magic and cured him of his curse.

Every inch of morality she had left screamed at her not to do it. The consequences would be too great on her.

But it was a sacrifice she'd have to make, to fix her brother.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **I really should've gotten this out earlier, sorry.

Thank you to: Lady Syndra, Lovely Rain Dancer, and SkullKey4758 for reviewing!

Review!


	12. Small Town Girl

**Chapter Eleven**

_Small Town Girl_

Anya had been in Mystic Falls for five days, but she had frequented the Grill so much in those five days, Matt knew her name and her usual order- a cup of coffee and a plate of fries. She even had a regular booth in the corner of the bar, where nobody bothered her except to occasionally refill her cup.

Anya retreated to that corner booth that afternoon partially to get out of the house and partially in hopes of running into Kol again. He had the answers to all her questions, and she still needed to get close enough to find out the location of the Astrum Stone. She thought she had been making decent progress with him, getting him to not lose his interest in her. And she managed to start to get comfortable around Kol, if that was even possible. She wasn't deathly afraid of him anymore, at least.

She had brought the Grimoire full of dark spells with her as she waited for Kol to show up. She had to admit, giving into the temptation had its benefits already. It was no longer clouding her mind every second, now that it already had her in its grip. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Anya didn't know it then, but the side effects of dark magic was like climbing a hill in a roller coaster; subtle at first, but by the time you realize just how severe it is, it's too late to stop and you're falling.

And the side effects were just beginning.

Anya was munching absentmindedly on French fries as she flipped through the pages of the worn book. One hand was on the plate, the other hand grazing the yellowed paper inked with words of a dead language she would never begin to understand.

Her head snapped out when the plate was moved from beneath her hand, and she fell out of focus. She looked across the booth to where Kol was settling in, pushing a handful of fries into his mouth.

"Yeah, just help yourself to my food," she muttered, closing the Grimoire and resting her arms on it.

He smirked down at her, wiping his greasy fingers on a napkin littering the table. "Good to see you too, Little Witch," he said lightly. "Though I do think we should start branching you out of this dreary little bar. You spend too much time here to be healthy."

Anya rolled her eyes. "This is Mystic Falls," she told him, running her fingers through her hair unconsciously. "This is the only place resembling a bar, diner, or coffee house within in the town. Where else am I supposed to hang out?"

Kol frowned at her. "Please don't tell me you've spent your entire life in small towns, Anya," he said, looking as if it really concerned him.

She shrugged. "I grew up in Clarington, Ohio," she said. "I think the population was around four hundred, give or take."

He raised an eyebrow. "That sounds absolutely horrific."

She frowned. "Hey, it wasn't that bad," she argued indignantly. "It was the kind of place where you knew your neighbors."

"I'm sure it also has a high number of alcoholics and substance abusers," Kol said arrogantly, and she glared at him.

"It really wasn't that bad," she argued. "I had fun growing up. Everybody knew everybody there."

"You grew up in Clarington, Ohio, Anya," Kol told her slowly, nose wrinkled. "I want to stake myself just at the thought of stepping foot into that town."

She frowned, disgruntled. "It's not like I planned to stay there all my life, get married and have babies with one of the six other guys my age I've known since preschool. I was going to move to California after graduation."

Kol rolled his eyes. "Don't be so typical, Anya. California, really? Of all the places in the world you could go, you choose the one with absolutely no culture."

Anya glared at him. "Any more of my life choices you'd like to tear apart? What about the clothes I wear?"

He smirked at him. "Well, I would prefer it if you wore something that revealed more cleavage, but that's just my personal preferences."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. He chuckled, and she had the urge to wipe his smug smirk off of his mouth. "You're adorable when you're irritated," he told her, eyes full of amusement.

She glared at him. "How have you not been set on fire yet?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I have," he replied, shrugging, as if it wasn't a big deal. "Many times, once by my sister. Originals are practically indestructible Darling; fire doesn't harm us."

She sighed. "Well, there go my plans of lighting you on fire. Why waste the time and energy if there's no permanent damage?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't think you have the guts," he muttered.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

Kol was suddenly distracted, and looked over his shoulder to the bar. He looked straight at a man who seemed to be talking to no one. Anya couldn't hear him, but Kol clearly could. He rolled his eyes at the man.

"One second, Nik," he whined. "I'll be there shortly."

He turned back to Anya, who frowned curiously at him. "Who's that?" she asked.

"My brother," he replied, settling back into the booth like he didn't plan to leave anytime soon. "He's complaining about how I dragged him out here to drink and the first thing I do is ditch him to go flirt with pretty witches."

She blushed, looking down at the table. His smirk grew, and he wondered how much more it would take for her to turn as red as a tomato. "Then maybe you should get back to your brother," she muttered, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Kol rolled his eyes. "Nik is a hypocrite, Little Witch. If a certain Forbes girl was here, he'd be trailing behind her like a lost puppy." He straightened and grinned mischievously at her. "Here's an idea, join us for a drink, Little Witch."

Anya snorted. "I think I'll pass."

"Don't be a buzz kill, Anya," he whined. "Live a little."

"I still have a hangover from the last time I got drunk with you, Kol," she said dryly. "And, besides, I'm too low on the supernatural totem pole to be drinking with the original hybrid and is obnoxious little brother."

Kol frowned, and silently wondered just how much she knew about his family. Anya was more knowledgeable than she let on, he knew that much. He'd been biding his time, learning more about the mysterious little witch slowly. But he still knew little about here and her motives.

"Well, I'm hurt," he said mockingly, placing a hand over his heart. "I thought you enjoyed drinking with me, Little Witch."

She frowned at him. "The last time we drank together, Kol, I was almost hit by a car."

"Almost being the key word," he reminded her. "I did save you, after all."

"My hero," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Kol smirked. "I know a few ways you can thank me, Anya, if you need ideas."

A red flush crept up her neck, and Kol was a little surprised by how easy it was. Any dry phrase hinting at anything sexual and she blushed red. Still, it was fun, knowing he got to her like that.

"I'm good, thanks," Anya mumbled, wishing she had ordered an alcoholic beverage after all.

Anya shifted and brought the Grimoire up to her chest. "I should get going," she told him, looking up at Kol. "I'd hate to keep you from your brother any longer."

Kol shrugged. "If you say so, Little Witch." He watched her get out of the booth, and grabbed her wrist to keep her from leaving. He pretended not to notice when she flinched away. "Just meet me here tomorrow, eight o'clock sharp. Wear something short, but classy. I'm thinking lace, maybe."

She frowned at him. "Where are we going?"

Kol grinned up at her. "I'm taking the small town girl out into the city."

She scoffed. "I'm not going clubbing with you, Kol."

"That's what you think, Little Witch," he replied cheekily. She just rolled her eyes and strutted away.

"Eight o'clock!" he shouted after her, as Anya slipped out of the bar, ignoring Klaus' questioning gaze as he watched their conversation.

Anya would show up. He knew she would.

Kol stood up and made his way over to Klaus. His brother looked amused as he sat down next to him. "Rebekah told me a Lewis witch had stumbled into town, and that you were quickly becoming obsessed with her. I just hadn't realized it was this bad."

Kol rolled his eyes. "Anya is very entertaining, Nik. And I like my entertainment."

"She looks like Margaret."

Kol paused a beat, stiffening. Then he relaxed and shrugged. "I suppose there is some resemblance there. But, really, Anya couldn't be more different. She isn't a raging bitch, for one."

Klaus was smiling, but there was danger in his eyes. "I just want to remind you what happened last time. I'd hate for history to repeat."

"'Course it won't, Nik. Living it the first time wasn't fun, so why would I want to relive it a second time?" Kol said lightly, but there was an edge in his voice.

"I won't have you drag our family down again because you have a soft spot for Margaret's descendants," Klaus said in a low voice.

"I'd be very careful with what you said next, Niklaus," Kol replied in a voice that was light yet full of suppressed rage.

Anya was so different from Maggie. Yes, they shared similar traits- light brown hair, small build, same eyes- but they were different. There was warmth in Anya, an innocence that pulled him in mostly because he had never experienced it in a Lewis before. Margaret had been cold and cruel but very sexy, which was why he put up with her for so long.

"And what could you possibly do to me, Kol?" Klaus scoffed, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother.

Kol smirked at him. "I won't do anything personally," he said, sitting up. "Nothing but tell Anya what exactly you did to her father fifteen years ago. She can tell the rest of her family and then the Lewis's will be aching to get your head on a stick once again."

Klaus didn't seem threatened. "You do that, Kol," he said, standing up. "And I'll-"

"You'll what?" Kol cut him off. "Stick another dagger in my heart?" He scoffed, disgusted.

"No," Klaus said, jaw tightening. "I'll tell the little Lewis witch what you've done to her ancestors for the past two hundred years. Then we'll see who's head the witches want on a stick."

Kol smirked, eyes completely cold. "Tell her, Niklaus. The girl deserves to know what's coming for her."

Kol downed the rest of his drink before standing up and walking away from the bar, leaving Klaus behind. So much for brotherly bonding night.

_**~LIP~**_

The house was quiet when Anya walked in. She figured Connor was sleeping, so instead of going straight into her room, she sat down on the couch. She propped her feet up on the arm and let the Grimoire rest on her stomach.

She hadn't let the spell book out of her sight ever since she decided to give into dark magic a few days ago. She felt almost attached to it, to the power its pages held. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of being a dark witch. It went against everything her family believed in, but Anya didn't want to be anything like her family.

She closed her eyes, debating whether or not to just sleep on the couch that night. She was too tired to make it to her room, and the old, sinking couch was comfortable enough.

Anya's eyes flew open when the Grimoire flew off of her stomach and crashed onto the floor. She sat up and watched the pages fly wildly, the source a nonexistent wind, to a blank page. Then the words started to appear all on their own.

Anya stared with wide eyes, unable to process with what little sleep her brain had to work on. It hadn't been the first time a ghost used a Grimoire to contact her. She just hoped it wasn't her mother again.

The message was brief, just three sentences and thirteen words. It set Anya's nerves off, though. It made the hair on her arms raise and gave her goose bumps.

_Beware Kol Mikaelson. Ask him what happened to Margaret Lewis._

Margaret Lewis. She had never heard of her, but she had to be an ancestor of hers, though.

The most chilling part of the message was the last sentence, how personal and familiar it sounded.

_Be careful, Anya._

Anya stared at the message, making sure it didn't disappear, that it was real.

Kol did have history with her family, and that just made her mission to get the Astrum Stone that much more complicated.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: ZoiLATC10, Lady Syndra, mindyrainbowpants, SkullKey4758, Marjoliennn, Lovely Rain Dancer, and purpleXorchid for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	13. The Philosophy of Regret

**Chapter Thirteen**

_The Philosophy of Regret _

"Where are you going?"

"Out with Kol," Anya replied, applying lipstick. "Cross your fingers that he doesn't end up killing me by the end of the night."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Connor joked. "Who else would break my curse?"

The look Anya gave him could have frozen the fiery pits of hell. He sighed. "I didn't mean it like that, Anya."

He was in a better mood, more like the Connor she had grown up with, the Connor she loved. That was a good sign. "I know how you meant it," she said.

Anya had no idea where Kol was taking her. She could rule Vegas out, but she wasn't even sure that wasn't an option. He was an Original vampire with jewels and castles and piles upon piles of money- he could be flying her to Rome for all she knew.

"I know- I know I haven't been very nice to you as of late," Connor started to say slowly. "And I'm- you know- I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, and I'm very… I'm very thankful that you're helping me."

She didn't bother to hide her surprise. "Thank you," she said, frowning.

He smiled at her- one that was only half forced. "Stay safe tonight, Anya," he told her.

Connor walked out her bedroom then, and Anya checked her watch before sighing. She had to leave now; if she wanted to be late enough that she didn't seem eager but not too late that he would leave without her.

It was a fact finding mission, or so she told herself. She'd find out more information about who killed her father, and about this Margaret Lewis, all the while getting closer to Kol. That was what she had to do that night.

She felt uncomfortable in her outfit; it was too short, too tight, and too revealing. But maybe the look when Kol saw how much of her cleavage was exposed would be enough to lighten the stress placed on her. She was nervous, to say the least. But then again, she was always nervous around Kol.

The entire drive to the Grill, she spent calming herself down. She hated her nervousness, her fear of him. But maybe it was healthy. It meant she knew that he was dangerous, that he could kill her with a twist of his wrist. It meant she respected his strength, his power. And maybe Kol respected her back for that.

It was a quarter past eight when she pulled into the parking lot. After taking a deep breath, Anya grabbed her purse and got out of her car. She was a little unsteady in her heels, and took careful steps away from her car to prevent from falling. She looked around the parking lot, but Kol was nowhere to be found.

Was he not going to show up? Was he at home laughing at her right now because she took his invitation- more of an order, though- seriously? She was already halfway to a panic attack when she felt someone standing just behind her.

"You look ravishing, Darling. Ready to go?"

She turned around to face him, and Kol smirked down at her. His eyebrow quirked up when he noticed how low the neckline of her dress was. "More than ravishing," he said, and the way his eyes raked down her body- an almost hunger within them- made Anya's pulse race.

His eyes met hers, and he held onto her gaze. "We'll have to do something about that later," he said, his voice rough, and Anya was caught by surprise at the little thrill that ran through her.

"But, until then," Kol said, voice going back to normal. "We have places to be. So, after you, Little Witch."

Anya didn't budge. "Where are we going?"

"Now, don't be a spoilsport, Anya. It's a surprise," Kol said, tossing her a smirk as he walked towards his car.

"Kol-"

He stopped and turned around to face her. "What? If I don't tell you where we're going, you won't go?" he mocked her, rolling his eyes. "That might work if I couldn't just as easily throw you over my shoulder and lock you in the trunk until we get there. Though that would cause a bit of a fuss, and might wrinkle your pretty little dress."

"Actually," Anya said, cutting him off. "I'd still go- willingly, I might add. I was just going to ask nicely."

Kol scoffed, but Anya walked closer to him, until she was within touching distance. "Please, Kol," she said softly, a light smile on her lips. "Will you tell me where we're going?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You think you can just bat your long eyelashes at me and I'll tell you everything you want to hear?"

"I'm not sure," she answered. "I guess we'll see."

Kol sighed, looking annoyed. He didn't answer for a long time, and Anya started to assume that he wouldn't tell her where they were going.

"Whitmore College," he told her finally.

She frowned at him. "You're taking me to a frat party?"

Kol smirked down at her. "Worried that your little ensemble will get all those college boys excited?" his eyes quickly scanned the short red dress again. "Don't you worry, Little Witch. If a boy so much as lays a hand on you, I'll rip their hands off."

He turned around and started towards the car again. Anya hurried to catch up with him. "If that's supposed to comfort me, it doesn't!" she exclaimed.

Kol just grinned mischievously at her, opening the passenger door for her. "Hurry up, Cinderella," he told her. "Your carriage awaits."

Anya stopped right in front of him. "Am I going to regret going with you tonight?" she asked him seriously, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kol rolled his eyes at her. "Regret is highly overrated, Anya. Don't regret anything you do, it's not worth the time or energy to do so."

"You didn't answer my question," she pointed out.

He grinned at her. "I think you'll be able to do that on your own soon enough," he told her. "Now, come on. Time is ticking away and we're no closer to cheap beer in red plastic cups and half-naked college students."

"You know, I expected something classier from an original vampire," she told him, sliding into the car seat. "Like New York or Atlantic City or Las Vegas or something besides a college party."

"Oh but Sweet Anya," Kol said, getting into the driver's side. "In order to get to those places, you have to pay your dues, work your way up. I'll start you at the frat party you seem so eager to shame, and see if you're able to handle yourself. Then we'll talk about going to the city."

She frowned at him as he started the car. "Do you even know how to drive?" she questioned skeptically.

"I guess we'll find out." He smirked at her as he pulled out of the parking lot and started towards the college.

She was in for a long night.

_**~LIP~**_

_I won't leave you, _he said. _Trust me, Anya, I am not abandoning you, _he assured her. _Trust me, Love, _he asked of her. She nodded, trusting his word. She stuck to his side like glue, but that didn't matter any.

The minute they walked into the fraternity, Kol spotted a group of drunken college girls, his eyes lighting up, and he was gone, out of sight. She yelled at him to come back, but her voice was lost in the noise of music and voices and screams.

So Anya was left to fend for herself. She got her cheap beer in the cheap plastic cup, and stood around awkwardly, feeling the gazes of the college students on her skin. She had a horrible time, and was cursing Kol out in her head. But then, after downing a few beers, suddenly she felt light and easy.

After a few more, Anya was actually having fun, all by herself. She was dancing alone in the corner of the room, the plastic cup of beer spilling onto her bare skin. She didn't need Kol to have fun. The beer tasted awful and the music was so loud her ears were ringing, but she was either drunk enough that she didn't notice these things or too drunk to care.

It wasn't long until she grabbed the attention of others. She felt arms wrap around her waist as she danced, and someone press against her. She frowned and tried to pull free, but even drunk, the frat boy who had a hold on her was stronger than she was.

She felt the arms around her waist ripped off of her, and then she heard a shout and a quick crunch. Next thing she knew was that it was Kol she was pressed up against and he was smirking, clearly proud with himself.

"Hello there, Darling," he said, his hands on her waist. "You look like you've had a few."

"And you look like you've had a few drunk sorority girls," she retorted, gesturing to the blood in the corner of his mouth.

His grin widened. "I admit, I might have fed on some unsuspecting women."

She was too drunk to care if they were still alive or not. "And what about the boy I was dancing with?"

"Dancing? Is that what they call it nowadays?" Kol spun her around, and Anya felt the world spin around her. It didn't stop until she was in his arms again. "From my view it looked like he was getting rather friendly with you."

"So what if he was?" she countered, swaying to the music or from being drunk, she didn't know. "Does that bother you? Make you jealous?"

He smiled then. They were both talking rather loudly, to be heard over the noise of the party going on around them. He liked drunken Anya. She was a good friend of his, an entertaining one. She had no filter, she spoke what was on her mind. Drunken Anya was one of his favorites.

"What if it did, then, Love?" he raised an eyebrow at her, taking the drink out of her hand and finishing it. "What if I told you that I want to rip the eyes out of every man in this house so that they can't look at you the way they are right now?"

He winced as the bitter liquid went down his throat. Maybe he should have taken Anya somewhere classier. Then maybe he would get to drink better quality alcohol.

He could feel her heart racing, he could feel the vibrations. Kol loved the feeling of her heartbeat. The way it raced under his fingertips gave him this sense of power he loved to have. He leaned in closer to her then, so close that he could feel her breath against his cheek. They were so close to each other he could feel the vibrations of her heart against his own chest, feel her blood pumping through her veins. They were so close to each other there was practically no space between them.

At that point they were just swaying to the music that played around them, with no real movement whatsoever. One of Kol's hands went down to her thigh, just below the hem of her dress. "I have to tell you, Anya," he said, his nose skimming her neck as he pulled her even closer against him. "That dress of yours looks great on you. But I do think it would look even better on my bedroom floor."

He felt her shiver, and she leaned against him almost automatically. "I bet you say that to all the girls you bring with you to parties," she said quietly, but he heard her perfectly. He was almost hyperaware to the arm wrapped around his neck, to the hand gripped on his shoulder, to the hair that brushed against his face.

"Oh, believe me, Darling, I have plenty of lines," he whispered back. "But that's one I saved for you alone."

She closed her eyes. She knew she would do something she'd regret if she stayed so close to Kol for much longer, but she stayed where she was. Anya couldn't think of anything she wanted to do more than feel Kol's lips against her own at that moment.

"I don't regret it," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Regret what, Little Witch?"

"Going here with you. I don't regret it. I will in the morning, but not tonight, not right now. Regretting is overrated," she assured him.

He grinned at her. "That's my philosophy."

Then, before she could do or say something to stop him, Kol kissed her. He kissed her fiercely, his mouth almost bruising hers with the force at which his lips pressed against hers. Anya kissed back, her arms wrapping around him as tightly as she could manage.

She would enjoy herself tonight, and regret it all in the morning. That was her philosophy.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **sorry for the wait guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Review!

~Abby :)


	14. The Noble Brother

**Chapter Fourteen**

_The Noble Brother_

Anya couldn't think straight, couldn't possibly comprehend what was happening. Kol overwhelmed her. His touch, his taste, his smell. It overwhelmed her. How much she had drank that night didn't help in the slightest. But Anya thought that most of it had to do with Kol. The alcohol just tore away her inhibitions. She felt out of control because of Kol.

He was so rough with her, she was surprised he hadn't broken her yet. Kol practically slammed her against the wall, and pressed himself up against her so tightly she couldn't breathe. His lips devoured her, his hands couldn't get enough of her. But instead of allowing herself to drown in the violent assault that was hooking up with Kol Mikaelson, she went along with it. She didn't fight it. She _enjoyed _it.

When Kol broke the kiss and instead moved his lips down to her neck and collar bone, Anya could finally breathe again. She inhaled deep breaths, heart hammering in her chest. The air was full of smoke and lust and recklessness. Bad decisions were being made left and right and people were so drunk their bad decisions seemed like perfectly good decisions. Anya was no exception to this. At that moment, all she could ever want was Kol.

Her fingers in his hair, Anya yanked Kol back up so she could crush her lips against his. He tasted like alcohol and smelled like sex. She was sure that both of them were wearing too many layers of clothing at that moment, and was debating whether or not she was drunk enough to have Kol take her right then and there.

Kol barely seemed to notice when she pulled him out of the crowd to the most private room closest to them- the bathroom. Hardly romantic, but beggars couldn't be choosers. As soon as the door was shut, Anya practically ripped her dress off, shimming it down to her waist. Kol welcomed the sight of her bra, his hands eager to get it off. But it was when Anya's hands came to his belt that he frowned against her lips.

She paid him no attention, and had it half off when his hands stopped her movements. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She raised an eyebrow, silently asking _what's your problem? _

Kol groaned, frustrated. He seemed at war with himself, and when he saw her all half-naked and practically undressing him with her eyes, it only made him question why he chose to have morals at that moment of all moments.

But, no. This wasn't some random bar whore. This was Anya, his Little Witch. The girl he had been pursuing for a while now. And he wasn't going to throw that away, all his hard work, for a drunken hook up in a grungy bathroom in a frat house, no matter how scandalous and amazing it would be.

"I am going to hate myself in the morning," he muttered, Anya's big green eyes blinking up at him slowly. She was frowning, confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and his decision was reinforced by the slurring nonsense that came out when she spoke.

"Get yourself cleaned up, Love. I'm taking you home."

Anya's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Because this isn't the time or the place for what you have in mind in that dirty little head of yours, Darling," Kol said dryly, and Anya felt herself turn red.

Humiliation. Rejection. It wasn't something she was very familiar with, though she had had a steady boyfriend throughout high school and hadn't done much casual dating. But she was now glad for it. Being rejected sucked. It stung, it humiliated you. Knowing Kol didn't want her, it hurt.

She refused to look him in the eye. Instead she busied herself by hastily pulling up her dress. She made to rush past him, out of the bathroom, and away from the terrible feelings creeping up on her. But before she could escape, Kol grabbed her wrist to keep her from running.

He sighed, already regretting his decision to be honorable. "Don't look so hurt, Little Witch. I was trying to do the right thing."

She snorted. "Since when?"

He growled, low in his throat. "This isn't because I don't want you, Love. _Trust me. _If you hadn't been so drunk you can barely walk straight and had we been anywhere but this overrated college party, the things I would do to you-"

Kol promptly cut himself off before the sexual frustration would take him over and he would pin Anya to the floor and rip off that poor excuse for a dress. Taking advantage of his distraction, Anya slipped out of his grip and out the door and was gone.

_**~LIP~**_

"You're home early. I expected you home drunker with that witch hanging off of you."

Kol barely spared his sister a glance. "Aw, yes. How unfortunate that we couldn't do the walk of shame together, Bekah," he said lightly, turning towards her with a smirk on his lips.

Rebekah just rolled her eyes. "I expect that you finally killed that Lewis witch, then?" she said, looking back down at the magazine in her lap.

What a relief it would have been, had he been able to replied "why yes, Sister, I did. And she was delicious". His flirtation with Anya had his entire family on edge. Elijah was even more uptight than usual, Rebekah never gave up a chance to mock Kol's taste in women, and Klaus, Niklaus with the worst history with the Lewis' out of all of them, even himself, was about ten seconds away from killing Anya himself. But Kol had made it very clear Anya wasn't to be harmed, not by any of them. He suspected she remained alive more out of the fact that none of them wanted Kol, who could be even more obnoxious when he was trying, to lurk over them for the next century than because they actually respected his threat.

"No, Anya's perfectly well, how nice of you for asking," Kol replied instead. His patience for conversation was quickly wearing out.

Rebekah's eyebrows shot up to the ceiling. "Either you've gone soft, brother, or that witch is too much for you," she mocked softly.

His eyes narrowed. "Shut it, Rebekah, or you'll find yourself lacking a liver," he growled.

"What's got you all uptight tonight? Anya playing hard-to-get or something?" Rebekah didn't care so much as wanted to rile her brother up as much as possible.

"Mind your own, Bekah," Kol said, turning his back on her.

"She wants nothing to do with you, doesn't she?" Rebekah seemed almost gleeful that her brother was rejected.

"For your own information, Anya couldn't get enough of me," he snapped back at her, his mind going back to the taste of the Little Witch. Her feel, her scent, it was all embedded in his mind.

Rebekah's eyebrows knitted together, before her eyes widened when she came to her realization. "You turned _her _down," Rebekah said. "Why? You done with your infatuation for that irrelevant witch?"

"No, I don't think so," Kol said casually.

Rebekah smirked suddenly. "She was intoxicated, wasn't she? And you didn't want to take _advantage _of her."

Kol would have torn his sister's head off in that moment.

"Shut _up, _Rebekah."

"How noble of you, Kol. Elijah would be so proud."

"I will kill you here and now, I swear to it," he growled at her.

"That wouldn't be very honorable of you, now would it?"

Kol wanted to enjoy is time with Anya, drag it out even. Because she was snarky and sassy and fun and interesting and confusing and boring and she could handle her liquor. Anya was an enigma smeared with red lipstick, and if he were to sleep with her- _when _he were to sleep with her- he would do it right. She would want him even more than she did tonight, and she would be sober, god damn it, because women wanted Kol without even being wasted.

Kol wasn't the noble brother, not even close, but there were some things he wanted to do right.

_**~LIP~**_

"Et tu animam tuam in salutem senties dolorem. Et tu animam tuam in salutem senties dolorem."

Anya gasped, feeling the magic coursing through her veins. She gripped Connor's hands tightly in her own, holding on for dear life almost. Her eyes flashed white as she chanted the old, dead words.

She heard Connor gasp as the magic healed him. She had found a new spell, one that didn't require her blood. It was more like she was giving a bit of her soul to him, her energy. It would heal him longer and faster than her blood could. But the spell took a lot out of Anya, more than any spell had before. And after the last Latin word fell from her lips, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed to the floor, completely wiped of energy.

When she finally gained consciousness, Anya was still on the floor. Connor hadn't bothered to move her to the couch. Her head ached, but Anya bet that had something to do with her hangover from her Night of No Regrets with Kol the night before. Just thinking about it, how she had practically thrown herself at him, made her want to bury her head under her bed for a thousand years and never come out.

"'Bout time you woke up," Connor mused from the couch, his eyes glued to the cheap TV they had.

Anya sat up slowly, rubbing her temples. "How long was I out?" she wondered.

"A few hours, give or take," he answered, taking a sip from the blood he had in a glass. He was drinking blood- that was a good sign.

"How do you feel?" Anya asked, sitting down next to him. She propped her feet up on the coffee table.

"Great, actually. Better than I have since I was first turned. I think the spell worked. We should keep using it," Connor said. He definitely seemed more full of life; happier, even. Anya was beyond joyful. The more time they had, the better.

Anya bit her lip in response. "I don't know if we can. That took a lot out of me. I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off by myself again."

Connor frowned at her. "But what if it's the only spell that can save my life? You'll let me die because you're weak?"

Anya blanched and shook her head furiously. "Of course not, Connor. I'll try my best, I promise-"

He briskly cut her off. "Good. Make sure your best is good enough."

Anya felt her stomach sink as she pulled her knees up to her chin. But Connor didn't notice, he was already moving on to the next topic.

"How's it going with Kol Mikaelson? You two went out last night, right? How'd that go?"

Anya found herself nodding. "I'm definitely making progress," she said, staring blankly down at the floor.

"Good. How long do you think it will take until you can get the stone?" Connor asked, flipping through channels on the TV.

She frowned. "I'm not sure, really. I don't want to rush it. He might find out then, and that won't be good for anybody."

Connor stared at her. "You better not be taking your sweet time, Anya. I need that stone, and I need it as soon as possible…"

After that, Anya started to tune him out. She wasn't in the right state mentally to be listening to him rant for ten minutes. Instead, her mind began to drift off towards last night.

How close had she been to sleeping with Kol? So close. That was part of the plan, after all. Seduce him, get close to him, steal the stone.

But, last night, that overrated stone had been the last thing on her mind.

She hadn't been thinking about the plan or Connor or anything besides Kol's skin against hers. It made her feel guilty. It made her feel concerned and confused.

She wasn't just in it for the stone, to save Connor. Her relationship with Kol was complicated. It was based on lies and duplicity, yet there was something real buried beneath it all. Real feeling. Real emotion. Real attraction.

Anya enjoyed her time with Kol, she would admit it. He was fun, exciting. He knew how to hold a conversation. And, while it was hard to get him to shut up sometimes, he knew how to tell stories, and he had stories to tell.

And, hell, he was great to look at. And she was attracted to him. Besides the murderous and blood thirsty personality, Kol was a man who was hot and was fun to be around- at least some of the time.

And Anya wanted him. She generally did.

And she was damned the moment she realized that.

_**~LIP~**_

**A/N: **I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATE.

On the bright side, I have finished outlining the rest of this story, and we're looking at it ending at about 35 chapters, give or take.

I'm also thinking about adding sex scenes later in this story. What's your opinion on that?

Thanks for reviewing!

~Abby :)


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